A court in Qingdao, China, has sentenced a man to more than 10 years in prison for stealing 107 Bitcoin — a case that turned on a memorized key and a rare legal question. The verdict, handed down this week, affirms that Bitcoin counts as property under Chinese criminal law, a distinction that matters even as the country maintains its blanket ban on cryptocurrency trading.
The theft and the key
The convicted man didn't hack an exchange or trick a smart contract. He got hold of a private key — one he apparently committed to memory — and used it to drain 107 Bitcoin from the victim's wallet. The amount, worth roughly several million dollars at current prices, disappeared before anyone could freeze or trace it. Police eventually caught up, and prosecutors charged him with theft of property. The key detail: because he had memorized the key, there was no digital footprint to find — just the movement of coins on-chain and the victim's testimony.
Property rights despite the ban
The judge's reasoning is what makes this ruling stand out. Since 2021, Chinese authorities have made it illegal to trade crypto, mine it, or even promote it. But the Qingdao court made clear that outlawing trading doesn't mean crypto isn't property. Under Chinese criminal law, property includes intangible assets that carry economic value — and the court said Bitcoin fits that definition. That's not a green light for trading; it's a signal that stealing crypto will be punished the same way stealing cash or gold would be.
What this means for crypto holders in China
If you hold Bitcoin in China, this ruling won't make it easier to sell. But it does give you a legal stick if someone steals it. Previous cases were inconsistent: some local courts treated crypto as virtual property, others dodged the question. The Qingdao decision — from a criminal bench — sets a clearer precedent. Criminal lawyers in China have already flagged the case as a guide for future theft prosecutions. The timing isn't accidental either: with more Chinese citizens holding crypto through foreign exchanges or cold wallets, theft cases are becoming more common, and prosecutors needed a framework.
An unresolved question
The ruling leaves one big open question: if Bitcoin is property for theft purposes, is it also property for inheritance, divorce, or debt collection? The Qingdao court didn't touch those scenarios. For now, the answer is specific to criminal law. But the reasoning — that crypto has objective economic value — is broad enough that civil courts in other provinces could pick it up. That's a conversation China's legal system hasn't had yet, and this case guarantees it will.
