The Chinese government issued a statement on November 10, declaring that individuals engaged in the theft of digital collectibles, including non-fungible tokens (NFTs), will face charges of theft. The statement provides three perspectives on crimes related to digital collections, categorizing the first two as offenses against data or digital property. However, it emphasizes that the third perspective, treating digital collections as data and virtual property, falls under the classification of a "joint crime."
The statement elaborates on the concept of stealing digital collections, encompassing actions such as infiltrating the system hosting them, which constitutes the crimes of illegally obtaining computer information system data and theft. The theft of digital collections is deemed to violate protection laws and the interests associated with the illegal acquisition of computer information system data. The statement further classifies digital collectibles as "online virtual property" and asserts that "collections should be considered property" within the context of criminal law.
Highlighting that property is the subject of property crimes, the statement contends that digital collections can be regarded as the subject of property crimes. If stolen through system intrusion or other technical means, this act undermines property rights law. Notably, the statement explicitly mentions NFTs, establishing the notion that digital collections originate from "foreign" NFTs utilizing blockchain technology for mapping specific assets, possessing characteristics like uniqueness, non-replicability, tamper-proofing, and permanent storage.
The statement acknowledges that while China has not yet opened a "secondary circulation market" for digital collections, consumers can utilize trading platforms for operations such as purchase, collection, transfer, and destruction, achieving exclusive possession, use, and disposal capabilities. Despite China officially banning most cryptocurrency-related activities and transactions since 2021, the statement reflects the increasing attention on NFTs. Reports from October highlighted that Alibaba's peer-to-peer marketplace, Xianyu, removed censorship of keywords related to NFTs and digital assets in searches. Additionally, China Daily, a government-owned English-language newspaper, announced its intention to create an NFT platform on October 6, offering a reward of 2.813 million yuan (US$390,000) for third-party contractors to design the platform to meet its specifications.
