China’s Top Court to Study New Standards for Crypto Cases as Filings Rise

China’s Supreme People’s Court said it will intensify research into new judicial standards as cases involving virtual assets, or cryptocurrencies, increase.

The Block reported on May 27 that Liu Guixiang, a member of the court’s judicial committee, told a press briefing the court would conduct in-depth research on trial rules for new types of cases involving virtual assets and cross-border finance.

He added that the court would move quickly to issue judicial interpretations on civil damages related to insider trading and market manipulation.

The remarks came as China pushes ahead with its 15th Five-Year Plan, which includes integrating cybersecurity systems across digital infrastructure and broader governance.

Chinese authorities in February also issued a joint notice expanding enforcement over financial activity tied to virtual assets. At the time, regulators reaffirmed the mainland’s ban on crypto trading and widened oversight to cover real-world asset, or RWA, tokenization and offshore yuan-linked stablecoins.

Although crypto trading remains banned in mainland China, some courts have recognized Bitcoin and other virtual assets as virtual property in disputes over property rights.

The February notice, however, stated that civil legal acts related to virtual-asset investment are invalid and that investors must bear their own losses.

Hong Kong, meanwhile, has maintained its push to develop the virtual-asset industry. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority issued its first stablecoin licenses to HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial in April, and is recently moving ahead with the process for a licensing regime covering virtual-asset advisory and asset-management services.