A court in Xuzhou, Jiangsu, recently heard a case in which Wang and others allegedly defrauded victim Xiao of 1.2 million yuan by using a purported U coin purchase as a pretext. The case was initially transferred for prosecution on suspicion of the crime of snatching, but prosecutors argued that the defendants had arranged a false transaction to obtain Xiao’s U coins through deception and brought fraud charges. Defense lawyers argued that the conduct constituted contract fraud, which could lead to a materially different sentence. The prosecutor said contract fraud is intended to protect market order and requires a contract connected to the socialist market economy. Because virtual currency trading is an illegal financial activity expressly prohibited by the state, the prosecutor said it does not fall within the scope of contract fraud.