China is now seen to be paying serious attention to disputes related to crypto and artificial intelligence (AI) as the country's highest court announced plans to study new guidelines for cases involving virtual currencies and digital technology.
The Supreme People's Court of China (SPC) said it will conduct an in-depth study on how courts handle cases related to crypto, cross-border finance, data ownership rights and AI-generated content.
The move is aimed at creating clearer and more consistent judicial standards as the number of cases related to the digital economy continues to grow in the country.
According to SPC Judicial Committee member Liu Guixiang, the court is also accelerating efforts to draft judicial interpretations on civil compensation involving market manipulation and insider trading.
In addition, China also wants to streamline legal protections for AI technology, including issues of data ownership, data transactions and content generated by artificial intelligence systems.
This development is seen to have attracted much attention because it occurs while China still maintains a complete ban on all crypto transaction activities.
Since 2013, China's central bank has begun tightening controls on Bitcoin by banning financial institutions from offering services related to the digital asset.
More aggressive action was then taken in 2021 when 10 Chinese government agencies officially banned all crypto transactions, Bitcoin mining and ICO-related activities in the country.
Most recently in February, Chinese authorities also banned the issuance of offshore yuan stablecoins and real-world asset (RWA) tokens that did not receive official government approval.
At the same time, the Chinese government continues to focus on the development of a state-owned digital yuan or CBDC.
Shortly before the latest ban was announced, China had allowed commercial banks to share profits with users of the digital yuan, thus demonstrating Beijing's aggressive efforts to promote an official digital currency over stablecoins or private cryptocurrencies.
The court's announcement also comes after several high-profile crypto crime cases have received international attention.
Among them is Chen Zhi, the founder of Prince Group, who was allegedly involved in a 'pig butchering' fraud operation.
US authorities previously reported seizing about $15 billion in Bitcoin linked to the operation.
