Chinese courts will now issue jail sentences if individuals engage in fundraising activities via crypto from the public.
New Directive: Crypto Fundraising, a Punishable Offense
After an intense crackdown on trade and mining, China is taking its anti-crypto stance to another level. For the first time, China’s Supreme People’s Court announced the amendment of the interpretation of the country’s criminal law to make it illegal to raise public funds through “virtual currency”. According to the official court document, the new law will come into force on March 1.
In case the amount of crypto fundraising exceeds 100,000 yuan ($16,000), the public deposit will be deemed a “large amount.” On the other hand, if the amount is over 500,000 yuan ($79,000), it will be flagged as “other serious circumstances,” as stipulated in Article 192 of the Criminal Law.
Changes have also been introduced regarding sentencing and punishment for crimes associated with illegal fundraising. The Supreme Court kept the original features of the law and brought in new ones including – crime, online lending, virtual currency transactions, leasing, etc. in the newly revised document.
According to reports, the main idea behind the revision is to elucidate the application of relevant laws, better implement the criminal policy of incorporating leniency with strictness, punish illegal fundraising crimes under the law, and preserve national financial security and stability.
Fever NFT
China’s strict cryptocurrency policy is not surprising. In September 2021, authorities had declared all cryptocurrency transactions illegal. Since then, regulators have implemented several policies to completely get rid of any operation related to the cryptocurrency industry.
However, the hype around NFTs does not appear to be cooling down. The fever surrounding this new space is being further fanned with the entry of high-profile Chinese companies such as Tencent.
CryptoPotato previously reported that the state-backed Blockchain Services Network (BSN) is considering rolling out a new platform that offers support for non-fungible tokens. The upcoming project is expected to provide application programming interfaces that allow users to develop and manage user portals and NFT-related applications.
Instead of traditional marketplaces that use crypto or some kind of digital asset, clients of BSN’s new platform can use only the Chinese Yuan for purchases and service fees. Initially, BSN plans to integrate the NFT platform will ten chains, such as Fisco Bcos, initiated by WeBank.
