A Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court ruling, later shared by the Guangdong High People’s Court as having reference value and listed among Guangdong’s 2025 top 10 commercial and financial cases, settled a private cryptocurrency loan dispute. In July 2023, a lender identified as Jin transferred one unit of an unnamed virtual currency to a borrower identified as Chang under a written agreement requiring return of the same coin within two days. The contract required repayment at the higher price if the coin rose, or at original value in USDT or yuan if it fell, plus 24% annual penalty interest for late payment. Chang failed to return the asset. Jin had paid 228,200 yuan on a domestic platform for 1.14 units, so one unit was calculated at 199,600 yuan, and sought either the coin back or its yuan value at the Binance rate at judgment plus interest. The court held that cryptocurrency cannot legally circulate as currency in China but may be treated as civil property with online virtual-property characteristics. It invalidated the repayment clause because guaranteeing the higher price and allowing yuan settlement on that basis effectively constituted a cryptocurrency exchange, which Chinese financial policy treats as illegal. Returning the identical coin was deemed impractical. With no lawful domestic market price, the court awarded 199,600 yuan (about $29,700) based on Jin’s acquisition cost and dismissed the 24% penalty interest and any higher market-linked claim, noting Jin bore the risk of buying through an unauthorized domestic platform. The decision is not nationwide binding; other Chinese courts have dismissed similar suits or refused lender awards.