A Chinese court has ruled that cryptocurrency cannot be used as a form of wage payment, confirming its legal status as separate from fiat currency and outside the protection of labor law.
According to a recent report by Shenzhen Special Zone Daily, the People’s Court of the Qianhai Cooperation Zone in Shenzhen addressed the issue in a labor dispute over claims for unpaid wages in cryptocurrency.
The dispute arose when Zhou, a senior engineer formerly employed by a technology company, claimed that part of his agreed salary was to be paid in cryptocurrency.
Zhou claimed that his employer had failed to fulfill the contract, which included monthly payments of 25,000 yuan in USDT along with a bank transfer of 20,000 yuan. The company disputed the claim, denying any formal agreement to pay wages in cryptocurrency.
The court cited a 2021 announcement by a number of Chinese government bodies that declared cryptocurrencies to lack the legal status of fiat currency. It confirmed that salaries must be paid in legal tender, according to the country’s labor law. The court said that contracts involving cryptocurrency payments cannot invalidate these laws.
The court found insufficient evidence to support the employee’s claim that cryptocurrency payments were part of the employment contract. It noted that while cryptocurrencies may have value, their use as a pay standard violates public policy and applicable financial regulations.
Zhou appealed the decision, but the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court upheld the original ruling.
The judge reiterated that employers and employees should refrain from including cryptocurrencies in wage agreements, stressing that such arrangements violate labor laws and provide no legal protection.
Former Digital Yuan chief Yao Qian accused of bribery
Yao Qian, a prominent figure in the development of China’s digital currency and former head of the Science and Technology Supervision Department at the China Securities Regulatory Commission, recently stood trial on charges of cryptocurrency bribery.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and the National Supervisory Commission unveiled the charges against Yao, accusing him of using digital currencies to facilitate bribes and abusing his position for financial gain.
