【A man steals 4 BTC and is sentenced to 12 years and 7 months; a Fuzhou court rules that stealing Bitcoin constitutes theft】

The Fuzhou Cangshan District People’s Procuratorate disclosed that a man was sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of 12 years and 7 months for theft, fined 300,000 yuan, and had illegally profited about 900,000 yuan by stealing 4 bitcoins from others, and the original judgment was upheld in the second instance. The case details show that in late 2020, Wang entrusted Lin to assist in liquidating the bitcoins he held for cash. During Lin’s access to Wang’s bitcoin wallet hard drive and computer, Lin stole the wallet “secret key” and related data, transferred the 4 bitcoins into his own name, and then sold them in succession for profit. In 2024, after Wang discovered that his assets were abnormal, he reported to the police, and Lin was subsequently arrested by the police. The procuratorate stated that although current regulations clearly specify that virtual currencies do not have the status of legal tender, Bitcoin has value, is manageable, and is transferable, and it meets the general characteristics of “property” under criminal law, and it falls within the object of property crimes; the related acts of infringement will also be pursued for criminal responsibility.$BTC $SOL $HYPE