A court in Shandong, China, heard a case involving losses from entrusted virtual currency investments and ruled that the plaintiff must bear their own losses.

Maritime Finance News: On March 18, the Zhangqiu District Court in Jinan City, Shandong Province, China, disclosed a typical case: Liu entrusted a friend, Zhang, to invest in “Alpha Currency,” which showed daily returns of hundreds of yuan on the platform. After investing, the platform became inaccessible, and Zhang informed Liu that the platform was under investigation for suspected criminal activity. Liu sued Zhang to recover the investment funds. The court, after review, held that investing in virtual currencies disrupts financial order and endangers financial security, thus the entrusted contract in this case is invalid. Since Zhang did not profit from the entrusted act, the investment loss is a risk associated with illegal financial activities and should be borne by Liu himself. The judge reminded that the 2017 announcement by ten departments and the 2021 notice by ten departments clearly state that virtual currency-related activities are illegal financial activities, and investment losses are not protected by law. Even if someone else operates on behalf of the investor, as long as it is essentially participating in virtual currency trading, it is also not protected by law. (The Paper)