Finally, scholars have clearly identified the pain points of judicial disposal of virtual currencies: converting to cash first easily leads to distortions, controlling prices through technology is the correct approach, and procedural justice cannot be overlooked.

Professor Xie Dengke, a professor at the Center for Theoretical Legal Studies of Jilin University, wrote in an article that virtual currencies, due to characteristics such as their virtual nature, anonymity, and distributed storage, pose challenges to investigation authorities when it comes to seizure, detention, and freezing. In judicial practice, it is often common to address disposal difficulties through a preliminary conversion to cash, but this may also result in the disposal process being distorted in nature. The article argues that any conversion to cash carried out in advance for the virtual currencies involved in a case should return to the essence of asset preservation; its core purpose is to maintain their economic value. Judicial authorities should prioritize technical measures such as “currency transfer” to carry out disposal, and only when it is not possible to effectively investigate, seize, and freeze the virtual currencies, and the virtual currencies face a significant risk of depreciation, should conversion to cash in advance be applied. At the same time, the disposal subject and procedures should be clearly defined, and litigation rights of criminal suspects and other relevant parties—such as the right to be informed and the right to express opinions—should be protected. (Justice Network)