A Chinese court ruled that a contract for the sales of bitcoin miners was void because it violated Chinese laws and public order.
The court found that the parties had entered into the contract for the purpose of bitcoin mining. Therefore, the sale of bitcoin miners was an investment in virtual currency.
The content of the contract violated China’s industrial policy in this field, as well as China’s public order. Therefore, the court declared the contract invalid.
The information on the above-mentioned case is taken from an article published on “Justice of China” (中国司法) (No. 11, 2022) in April 2023 by Judge Yang Fan (杨凡) of the Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court. The title of the article is “Contract for the Sale and Purchase of Bitcoin Miner Invalid Due to Violation of Public Order and Good Morals” (“矿机”买卖合同因违反公序良俗而无效). Judge Yang Fan is the judge of the second instance of this case.
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Contributors: CJO Staff Contributors Team