Gao FA on virtual currency

On June 28, 2009, the Ministry of culture and the Ministry of Commerce jointly issued the "notice on strengthening the management of virtual currency in online games", which made it clear that virtual currency is expressed in the form of prepaid recharge card, prepaid amount or points of online games, but does not include game props obtained in game activities; Virtual currency shall not be used to pay for, purchase physical procts or exchange for any procts and services of other enterprises< The following is the full text of the Circular of the Ministry of culture and the Ministry of Commerce:
the Circular of the Ministry of culture and the Ministry of Commerce on strengthening the management of virtual currency in online games
the cultural departments (bureaus) and commercial departments (bureaus) of all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government, the Cultural Bureau and commercial bureau of Xinjiang proction and Construction Corps, Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Cultural market administrative law enforcement corps:
with the rapid development of online games, online game virtual currency is widely used in online game business services. The virtual currency of online games not only promotes the development of online game instry, but also brings new economic and social problems. Mainly reflected in: first, the lack of protection of user rights and interests; Second, market behavior lacks supervision; Third, the online game virtual currency in the use of disputes
in order to standardize the operation order of online game market, according to the spirit of Interim Provisions on Internet culture management, notice on Further Strengthening the management of Internet cafes and online games (Wen Shi Fa [2007] No. 10) and notice on standardizing the operation order of online games and banning the use of online game gambling (Gong Tong Zi [2007] No. 3), etc, With the consent of the people's Bank of China and other departments, the notice on strengthening the management of virtual currency of online games is as follows

It is illegal to issue virtual currency privately

extended data

virtual currency refers to non real currency. Well known virtual currencies, such as online currency of Internet company, q-coin of Tencent company, q-point and voucher of Shanda company, micro currency launched by Sina (used for micro games, Sina reading, etc.), chivalrous Yuanbao (used for chivalrous road game), silver grain (used for bixue Qingtian game), and popular digital currencies in 2013 include bitcoin, Laite coin, infinite coin, quark coin, zeta coin, etc Barbecue coins, pennies (Internet), invisible gold bars, red coins, prime coins. At present, hundreds of digital currencies are issued all over the world. Popular in the circle & quot; The legend of "bitcoin, Wright silver, infinite copper, pennies aluminum"

market formation

the Internet has led to the emergence of a new market, which is a virtual market based on cyberspace. The Internet provides a lot of communication places for consumers, and also provides business market for enterprises. Enterprises must change from proct centered to service centered to customer centered. With the development of computer artificial intelligence technology and database technology, enterprises can conveniently collect customers' information, understand customers' needs in time, change business strategies and grasp economic arteries in real time

the traditional finance is also closely watching this irresistible trend of global economic integration and networking. As a result, value-added services take art as the selling point and can be regarded as commodities; The sword in the game is not a brand-new financial services business philosophy - e-finance came into being

from the historical development process, to understand e-finance, we must start from the electronic finance and e-commerce. The so-called e-financialization means that financial enterprises adopt modern communication, computer, network and other information technology means in addition to Internet technology to improve the work efficiency of traditional financial service business, rece operating costs, realize the automation of financial business processing, informatization of financial enterprise management and scientific decision-making, and provide customers with faster and more convenient services, And then enhance the financial enterprise is the behavior of market competitive advantage

e-finance is a transcendence of financial electronization. Different from the electronic finance, the main technical basis of e-finance operation is the increasingly perfect Internet technology. Due to the characteristics of global connectivity, openness, quickness and low marginal cost of Internet technology, e-finance strengthens the restructuring and innovation of financial services business based on Internet technology, so that customers are free from the restrictions of business hours and places, and enjoy all kinds of high-quality and low-cost services provided by financial enterprises anytime and anywhere

with the development of Internet, the form of money is becoming more virtual, and there is an electronic money that only exists in the form of electronic signal

reference source: Network: virtual currency

There are two reasons for the prohibition of virtual currency trading by the state:

1. The price fluctuates violently and the consumer protection is lacking:

virtual currency is the proct of network, and the digital information flowing in the network is beyond everyone's control. The code of cyberspace is the basis of the operation of virtual currency, investors can only operate through the front-end interface, seemingly "control" the virtual currency. The operator of the virtual currency service organization may become the actual controller of the virtual currency through the control code

bitcoin and other so-called "virtual currencies" lack a clear value basis, the market is full of speculative atmosphere, the price fluctuates violently, and investors blindly follow suit, which is easy to cause capital losses

2. Evade supervision and become the "accomplice" of criminal activities:

bitcoin is popular as a payment tool in the so-called "dark web" world“ The "dark net" is full of all kinds of serious criminal activities. One of the original intentions of the invention of bitcoin is to evade regulation. It has the characteristics of anonymity and convenient cross-border flow, and has become the preferred tool of "underground economy"

the existence of bitcoin and exchanges and other instrial chains has constructed a illegal financial market for asset transfer and financing in addition to legal currency, increased the difficulty of regulatory authorities in managing financial security and stability, and promoted regulatory arbitrage and financial crimes. The risks and social security risks it brings to the financial market are far higher than its innovative value

extended information

virtual currency transactions are not protected by law:

according to the notice on preventing bitcoin risks issued by the people's Bank of China and other departments on December 3, 2013 and the announcement on preventing financing risks of token issuance issued by seven ministries and commissions including the people's Bank of China on September 4, 2017, virtual currency is not issued by monetary authorities, It is not a real currency because it does not have the monetary attributes of legal compensation and compulsion

in terms of nature, virtual currency should be a specific virtual commodity, which does not have the same legal status as currency, and can not and should not be used as currency in the market. Although citizens' investment and trading in other virtual currencies are personal freedom, they can not be protected by law

Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the specific application of law in the trial of counterfeit currency and other cases (adopted at the 1110th meeting of the judicial committee of the Supreme People's Court on April 20, 2000), The specific application of law in the trial of such cases is explained as follows:
Article 1 Whoever forges money with a total denomination of more than 2000 yuan but less than 30000 yuan, or with a total amount of more than 200 pieces but less than 3000 pieces, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than 10 years and a fine of not less than 50000 yuan but not more than 500000 yuan in accordance with the provisions of Article 170 of the criminal law
if the total denomination of counterfeit currency is more than 30000 yuan, it belongs to "the amount of counterfeit currency is particularly huge"
Article 2 if an actor uses counterfeit money after purchasing it, which constitutes a crime, he shall be convicted of the crime of purchasing counterfeit money and given a heavier punishment in accordance with Article 171 of the criminal law
if the selling and transporting of counterfeit currency constitutes a crime and the behavior of using counterfeit currency at the same time, the offender shall be punished for several crimes in accordance with the provisions of articles 171 and 172 of the criminal law
Article 3 selling or buying counterfeit currency or knowingly transporting counterfeit currency with a total denomination of more than 4000 yuan but less than 50000 yuan belongs to "large amount"; If the total denomination is more than 50000 yuan but less than 200000 yuan, it belongs to "huge amount"; If the total denomination is more than 200000 yuan, it belongs to "extremely huge amount" and shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions of the first paragraph of article 171 of the criminal law
Article 4 Any employee of a bank or other financial institution who purchases counterfeit money or takes advantage of his position to exchange counterfeit money for money with a total denomination of more than 4000 yuan but less than 50000 yuan or a total quantity of more than 400 pieces but less than 5000 pieces shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than 10 years and shall also be fined not less than 20000 yuan but not more than 200000 yuan; If the total denomination is more than 50000 yuan or the amount of money is more than 5000 pieces or if there are other serious circumstances, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years or life imprisonment and shall also be fined not less than 20000 yuan but not more than 200000 yuan or be sentenced to confiscation of property; If the total denomination is less than 4000 yuan or the amount of money is less than 400 pieces, or if the circumstances are relatively minor, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention and shall also, or shall only, be fined not less than 10000 yuan but not more than 100000 yuan
Article 5 a person who knowingly holds or uses counterfeit money with a total denomination of more than 4000 yuan but less than 50000 yuan is a "large amount"; If the total denomination is more than 50000 yuan but less than 200000 yuan, it belongs to "huge amount"; If the total denomination is more than 200000 yuan, it belongs to "extremely huge amount" and shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions of article 172 of the criminal law< Article 6 if the total denomination of the altered currency is more than 2000 yuan but less than 30000 yuan, it belongs to "large amount"; If the total denomination is more than 30000 yuan, it belongs to "huge amount" and shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions of article 173 of the criminal law
Article 7 "currency" in this interpretation refers to RMB and foreign currency that can be circulated or exchanged in the domestic market
the denomination of currency shall be calculated in RMB, and other currencies shall be converted into RMB according to the foreign exchange rate announced by the State Administration of foreign exchange at the time of the case