China declares stealing digital collections like NFTs liable for criminal theft sentence

cointelegraph.com:

The Chinese government released a statement on Nov. 10 declaring that anyone stealing digital collections, such as nonfungible tokens (NFTs), will be subject to theft sentences.

It outlines three views on the type of crime that theft of digital collections falls under, the first two classifying it as either data or digital property. However, the statement stresses that the third view, which sees digital collections as both data and virtual property, would fall under the umbrella of “co-offending.”

The statement explained that stealing a digital collection includes intrusion into the system on which it is housed, therefore also committing the crime of illegally obtaining computer information system data and theft.

It elaborates on this topic, naming digital collections “network virtual property” and stressing that in the criminal law context, “collections should be recognized as property.”

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NFTs were specifically mentioned, establishing that digital collections are derived from the concept of NFTs “abroad” and use blockchain technology to “map specific assets” with “unique, non-copyable, tamper-preventing, and permanent storage characteristics.”

The declaration said that, although China has not opened the “secondary flow market” for digital collections, “consumers can rely on trading platforms to complete purchases, collections, transfers, destruction and other operations to achieve exclusive possession, use, and disposal capabilities.”

Despite China’s official ban from 2021 on nearly all crypto-related activity and transactions other than simply owning cryptocurrencies, there has been recent buzz surrounding NFTs.

A local Chinese media