A man was sentenced to 12 years and 7 months in prison for stealing 4 Bitcoins. The Fuzhou court ruled that stealing Bitcoin constituted theft.

According to Mars Finance, the Cangshan District People's Procuratorate of Fuzhou City disclosed that a man was sentenced to 12 years and 7 months in prison and fined 300,000 yuan for stealing four Bitcoins and illegally profiting approximately 900,000 yuan. The second instance upheld the original verdict. The case revealed that in late 2020, Wang entrusted Lin to assist in liquidating his Bitcoin holdings. While accessing Wang's Bitcoin wallet hard drive and computer, Lin stole the wallet's "key" and related data, transferred the four Bitcoins to his own name, and subsequently sold them for profit. In 2024, Wang discovered the abnormal assets and reported it to the police, who subsequently arrested Lin. The procuratorate stated that although current regulations clearly stipulate that virtual currencies do not have legal tender status, Bitcoin possesses value, manageability, and transferability, meeting the general characteristics of "property" under criminal law, and thus falls under the category of property crimes. Related infringements will also be subject to criminal liability.