According to Justice Network, the Jiangsu Lianshui County Court recently concluded a case involving virtual currency. The defendant Mao, while entrusted to safeguard a friend's suitcase, discovered a note inside the box recording the mnemonic phrase for a virtual currency wallet, and then instructed his son to restore the wallet and transfer the assets. Between March and April 2022, the two of them transferred out and sold a total of 132,499 USDT, earning approximately 836k RMB. The prosecution believed that the two secretly transferred and sold others' virtual assets after accidentally discovering the mnemonic phrase, and their behavior constituted theft. The court adopted the indictment and sentenced the father and son to three years in prison with a four-year probation for theft, and each was fined 100k RMB. The prosecution pointed out that although virtual currency is not legal tender, it has property attributes and is protected by law.