According to a report by Shandong Legal Daily, the People's Procuratorate of Licang District, Qingdao, prosecuted a high-profile Bitcoin theft case that has now concluded with a final verdict. Defendant Zhang was convicted of theft and sentenced to 10 years and 9 months in prison, along with a fine of 100,000 yuan. The case involved 107 bitcoins, valued at over 22.54 million yuan based on the market price on the day of the incident, making it a typical case of punishing virtual currency crime in Qingdao.
The investigation revealed that in the early hours of one morning in 2024, the victim Feng’s cryptocurrency wallet was secretly accessed and all 107 bitcoins were transferred out. Feng had previously entrusted the defendant Zhang, an acquaintance, to assist with setting up the wallet. During registration, Zhang secretly stored the mnemonic phrase and later, after multiple attempts that night, cracked the wallet and moved all the bitcoins. After being caught, Zhang argued that his actions were a “protective transfer” aimed at preventing the bitcoins from being stolen by other parties.
Funds Trail Exposes the Lie
Prosecutors tracked the flow of the stolen bitcoins and discovered that after being moved through multiple addresses, they were eventually exchanged for more than 660,000 yuan in fiat currency. This detailed trail of conversion and cash-out directly disproved Zhang’s claim of a protective maneuver, revealing it as a deliberate theft.
The procuratorial authority determined that Bitcoin possesses clear economic value and exclusive controllability, making it fully consistent with the core characteristics of “property” under Chinese criminal law. Consequently, it can serve as the object of a theft crime. Instead of using the market value at the time of the crime, the prosecutors calculated the theft amount based on the actual proceeds from cashing out, which were over 660,000 yuan.
Appeal Rejected, Judicial Stance Reaffirmed
Following the initial conviction, Zhang appealed. In November 2025, the Qingdao Intermediate People’s Court rejected the appeal and upheld the original sentence. As a milestone case in Qingdao’s campaign against virtual currency crime, the ruling sends a clear judicial message: activities involving virtual currency must be conducted within the legal framework, and stealing other people’s virtual property constitutes a criminal offense that will be punished according to law.