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Bitcoin [BTC] received a major boost after Sa Xiao, Council Member at the Bank of China’s Law Research Association, said that it should be legal for people in China to own Bitcoin [BTC], despite the government’s ban on crypto transactions and assets.
The statement was released by @Cnledger, a notable crypto news source based out of China, and stated that Xiao believes that the “occasional exchange of Bitcoins between peer to peer in China should be considered legal.”
Source: Twitter
The statement is important with regard to China’s stance on crypto wherein the country has completely prohibited crypto-trading. The government tightened the ban in August 2018, after it requested Alipay, a widely utilized financial app, to crack down on over-the-counter [OTC] BTC trading.
Sa Xiao’s beliefs are based on the present legal framework which according to him, protects the population’s right to own virtual assets. He stated that occasional peer-to-peer trading of Bitcoin was one of the “rights of ownership” and it felt in the nature of “disposition right.” Hence, owning and occasional P2P transaction of Bitcoin and other virtual assets should be legal, he said.
However, Xiao cautioned that if an entity ran Bitcoin trading as a business and caused capital losses to its customers, there would be serious consequences against the individual, as s/he would be punishable under the criminal law of China.
The remarks made by the Bank of China representative received major attention on social media as people remained split on the statement.
Twitter user, @DolphinPay, stated,
“Nothing changed indeedly. Exchange between individuals to individuals in China still is [as has always been] legally blurred. Besides the facts, conclusions reported are legal opinions and wishful thinking. Which is not worthless, but is just a personal thought by Xiao.”
Another twitter user, @CryptoOutsource, responded,
“This is an individual’s opinion on the legal status of Bitcoin. This is not an official government position. But I do not expect the government to allow for Bitcoin to thrive as it is an excellent way to circumvent the tightening control they are applying to money.”