Shandong Court Rules on Entrusted Virtual Currency Investment Loss Case, Determines Investor Must Bear Loss

Gate News Report, March 18 — The Zhangqiu District Court in Jinan City, Shandong Province recently disclosed a typical case. Liu entrusted a friend, Zhang, to invest in “Alpha Currency,” which showed daily earnings of hundreds of yuan on the platform. After the investment, the platform became inaccessible, and Zhang informed Liu that the platform was under investigation for suspected criminal activity. Liu then filed a lawsuit demanding Zhang return the investment funds. The court, after review, held that investing in virtual currencies disrupts financial order and endangers financial security, making the entrusted contract invalid. Since Zhang did not profit from the entrusted actions, the investment loss was due to engaging in illegal financial activities and should be borne by Liu himself. The judge reminded that the 2017 announcement by seven departments and the 2021 notice by ten departments clearly state that virtual currency-related activities are illegal financial activities, and investment losses are not protected by law. Even if someone else operates on behalf of the investor, as long as it is essentially participating in virtual currency trading, it is also not protected by law.