On the Legal Attributes of Cryptocurrencies and the Determination of Contractual Validity

With the rise of blockchain technology and the continuous development of the digital economy, the legal categorization and value assessment of cryptocurrencies have become a challenging issue in civil judicial practice, which not only pose difficulties in civil judicial proceedings but also significantly influence the resolution of civil disputes related to cryptocurrencies. By conducting an in-depth exploration of the legal attributes of cryptocurrencies show that when examined from three dimensions-legal regulations, social acceptance, and security risks, the status of cryptocurrency as currency should be refuted. Nevertheless, cryptocurrencies exhibit characteristics such as value, appropriability, and transferability, which justify their classification as virtual property. The determination of the property value of cryptocurrencies should be based on the principles including interest equilibrium, coherence, party autonomy, and pragmatism. By integrating multi-dimensional considerations such as the agreements between parties, objective market trends, and expert appraisals, a hierarchical set of value determination rules can be established. In specific civil disputes involving cryptocurrencies, safeguarding national financial security should be the overarching principle. When not in violation of prohibitive laws or public order and good customs, the validity of contracts for cryptocurrency transactions should be recognized with certain limitations. In cases of contractual invalidity, the liquidation of the contract should be handled in accordance with the law based on the possibility of returning the cryptocurrency, and the policy regulatory objectives should be precisely achieved through the scientific allocation of losses.