ChainCatcher news, according to The Paper, the Jingde Court in Zhejiang recently concluded a contract dispute case regarding the sale of virtual currency mining machines. In April 2021, the plaintiff, Mr. Hang, purchased a "mining machine" platform and 64 hard drives from the defendant, Mr. Chen, for a total value of 429,000 yuan. After paying the full amount, Mr. Chen failed to deliver the equipment as agreed and only refunded 180,000 yuan.The court cited the National Development and Reform Commission's "Notice on Rectifying Virtual Currency 'Mining' Activities" issued in September 2021, as well as the central bank and other departments' "Notice on Further Preventing and Handling Risks of Virtual Currency Trading Speculation," determining that activities related to virtual currency are illegal financial activities. The court ruled that the contract for the sale of the mining machines was invalid due to violation of public order and good customs, and ordered the defendant to return the remaining 249,000 yuan.The second-instance court upheld the original ruling, stating that the relevant contract not only violated public order and good customs but also did not conform to the basic principles of resource conservation and environmental protection.

ChainCatcher news, a cryptocurrency mining farm in a building located in Sancheondong, Wansan-gu, Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, South Korea, caught fire and was extinguished after about 50 minutes. The fire did not cause any casualties, but approximately 110 mining machines were burned, resulting in property damage estimated at around 9 million won (according to the fire department). The fire department reported that at the time of the fire, about 30 of the 110 mining machines were actually in operation. The police and fire department are investigating the cause of the fire with witnesses.

ChainCatcher news, November 2023, the Economic Investigation Team of the Kunming Public Security Bureau successfully cracked a new type of online pyramid scheme crime using virtual currency and blockchain concepts as a vehicle. Since 2022, individuals including Li have established a community on a public blockchain on the internet, using the bait of "earning static mining income through stakable virtual currencies" and "developing downlines to stake virtual currencies for substantial dynamic referral income," claiming that every level of players can receive management rewards of 2% to 30% from direct referrals. As of April 2023, their group had developed over 10,000 members, formed a hierarchical criminal organization with 15 levels, and involved funds exceeding 280 million yuan. Currently, 15 criminal suspects have been arrested in this case, 8 have been approved for arrest, and 11 have been transferred for prosecution.

ChainCatcher News: The Beijing Municipal Development and Reform Commission and other departments have released the "Beijing's Further Strengthening Energy Conservation Implementation Plan (2024 Edition)." The plan requires continuous efforts to rectify virtual currency "mining" activities, strengthen monitoring and analysis of "mining" activities, classify and rectify them, and resolutely clean up virtual currency "mining" activities in the city in accordance with laws and regulations.

ChainCatcher news, according to China News Network, the People's Court of Tianhe District, Guangzhou, recently heard a contract dispute case arising from virtual currency mining. The court ruled in the first instance that the contract was invalid, dismissing all claims of the plaintiff and all counterclaims of the defendant. The defendant subsequently appealed, but due to failure to pay the second-instance case acceptance fee within the stipulated period, the case was processed as a withdrawal, and the first-instance judgment has now taken effect.The court reported that in May 2021, the plaintiff, a certain Tian company, signed a "Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement" with the defendant, a certain Ma company, agreeing that the Ma company would provide Proof of Capacity (P disk) services for the Tian company. During the service process, the Tian company filed a lawsuit claiming that the Ma company had not completed the P disk service on time and in full, demanding a refund of the service fee and deposit totaling 295,000 yuan.After hearing the case, the court found that this case involved activities related to virtual currency. Relevant Chinese authorities have clearly pointed out that virtual currency does not have the same legal status as legal tender, and activities related to virtual currency are considered illegal financial activities. Moreover, the mining activities involved in this case consume a large amount of energy and produce significant carbon emissions, contributing little to the national economy, and are detrimental to the optimization of China's industrial structure and energy conservation and emission reduction, as well as to achieving the goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality. Therefore, the mining contract signed by both parties is deemed invalid due to harming public interests and violating public order and good morals, and the related property rights arising therefrom should not be protected by law; the consequences of the aforementioned actions should be borne by the parties themselves. (source link)