A man was sentenced to 12 years and 7 months for stealing 4 BTC, with the Fuzhou court ruling that stealing Bitcoin constitutes theft

The Fuzhou City Cangshan District People's Procuratorate disclosed that a man was sentenced to 12 years and 7 months in prison for theft after stealing 4 Bitcoins from others and illegally profiting about 900,000 yuan, with a fine of 300,000 yuan. The second instance upheld the original verdict.

The case shows that at the end of 2020, Wang entrusted Lin to assist in cashing out the Bitcoins he held. During the process of accessing Wang's Bitcoin wallet hard drive and computer, Lin stole the wallet's "private key" and related data, transferring 4 Bitcoins into his own name, and subsequently sold them for profit. In 2024, after Wang discovered abnormal asset activity, he reported it to the police, and Lin was subsequently arrested.

The procuratorial authority stated that although current regulations clearly indicate that virtual currencies do not have the status of legal tender, Bitcoins possess value, manageability, and transferability, meeting the general characteristics of "property" in criminal law, and are subject to property crime. Relevant infringement actions will also be held criminally accountable.