The Qianhai Court in Shenzhen ruled on a wage payment dispute case, deciding that virtual currency cannot be used as a method of wage payment

According to ChainCatcher news, the Shenzhen News Network reported that the People's Court of Qianhai Cooperation Zone in Shenzhen recently made a ruling on a labor dispute case involving virtual currency salary payments. The case originated in June 2021, when the plaintiff, Zhou, joined a company as a senior engineer, claiming that he had agreed with the company on a monthly salary of 45,000 yuan, of which 20,000 yuan would be paid via bank transfer and the remaining 25,000 yuan in the form of USDT. Two months later, the company terminated the labor contract on the grounds of "skills not matching," but did not pay the agreed portion of the salary in virtual currency.

The court determined that, according to the "Notice on Further Preventing and Dealing with Risks of Virtual Currency Trading Speculation" issued by the central bank and ten other departments in September 2021, virtual currencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT do not have legal tender status. At the same time, Article 50 of the Labor Law and Article 5 of the Interim Provisions on Wage Payment clearly state that wages must be paid in legal currency on a monthly basis and cannot be replaced by other forms.

Ultimately, the court only supported the plaintiff's claim regarding the unlawful termination of the labor contract, ordering the company to pay 10,000 yuan in compensation. The case was upheld by the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court in the second instance.