#英国高院裁定钱志敏案适用中国法
Bitcoin has risen 200-fold in ten years: from 2,815 yuan per coin to 560,000 yuan. Victims may ultimately get back only their principal 🦖
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On October 12, the High Court of England and Wales issued a key ruling in the Tianjin Lantian Gerui illegal fundraising case. The property claims of 16,000 Chinese victims to the approximately 61,000 seized bitcoins must be judged under Chinese law. The coins were bought in 2014 at an average price of 2,815 yuan each. Today, each is worth around 560,000 yuan, bringing their total value to more than 34 billion yuan. Victims who register claims are highly likely to recover only their principal plus interest ⚖️
The difference comes down to one word. Under English law, bitcoin is classified as property, so victims can claim ownership of the bitcoins themselves—including the 200-fold increase in value. Chinese law does not recognize bitcoin as property. Judgments involving crypto typically support repayment of the original investment plus interest. Put simply: if you invested 100 yuan and the coins bought with that money rose in value to 20,000 yuan, the law recognizes only your original 100 yuan, plus a little interest. The remaining 19,900 yuan has nothing to do with you.
Lantian Gerui was established in March 2014 and issued 10 wealth-management products promising returns of one to three times the investment. At its peak, it attracted more than 120,000 investors and raised over 40 billion yuan in total. The scheme's operator, Qian Zhimin, also known by the alias “Sister Hua,” used a large portion of the funds to accumulate bitcoin on a certain exchange. Evidence presented in the English court showed that she may have handled as many as 190,000 bitcoins, of which around 120,000 remain unaccounted for 🐋
Repayments collapsed in July 2017. Qian Zhimin fled to the UK using a forged passport. In 2018, she tried to buy a £23.5 million mansion in London with bitcoin, but the deal fell through because she could not explain the source of the funds. In May 2021, UK police seized around 61,000 bitcoins, then worth more than £3 billion—the largest cryptocurrency seizure in law-enforcement history. In November 2025, she was sentenced in London to 11 years and eight months in prison. Accomplices in China had already been sentenced. Across two rounds of compensation, victims have recovered only around 13% of their principal.
What’s even more chilling is that the UK has an asset-recovery incentive scheme called ARIS. If recovered criminal assets have no lawful claimant, 50% goes to the UK Treasury. If victims recover only their principal under Chinese law, the 200-fold increase may have no lawful claimant—and is quite likely to flow into the UK’s coffers. The coins bought with victims’ hard-earned money rose 200-fold, but the gains may end up in another country’s treasury 📈
The ruling is not yet final. The court said the evidence still requires further examination, and the parties may appeal. The 61,000 bitcoins are sitting in a custodial account, fluctuating in value—and continuing to appreciate—every day.
Here’s a point worth remembering: how the property status of crypto assets is determined directly decides whether your coins count as your money. This isn’t a technical issue; it’s a question of jurisdiction. For cross-border crypto, ownership often depends on which country’s court seizes it first, and whether that country’s laws recognize it. The UK High Court ruled that Chinese law applies in the Qian Zhimin case. The implications could affect an entire generation of cross-border crypto holders.
Let’s discuss in the comments: who do you think will ultimately get the 200-fold increase in value? Do the victims have a chance of turning things around on appeal?
Every day, we bring you the latest developments in crypto—not just what’s happening, but also the logic and opportunities behind the headlines 👀🚀
Bitcoin has risen 200-fold in ten years: from 2,815 yuan per coin to 560,000 yuan. Victims may ultimately get back only their principal 🦖
🕐 最新解读群里更新
On October 12, the High Court of England and Wales issued a key ruling in the Tianjin Lantian Gerui illegal fundraising case. The property claims of 16,000 Chinese victims to the approximately 61,000 seized bitcoins must be judged under Chinese law. The coins were bought in 2014 at an average price of 2,815 yuan each. Today, each is worth around 560,000 yuan, bringing their total value to more than 34 billion yuan. Victims who register claims are highly likely to recover only their principal plus interest ⚖️
The difference comes down to one word. Under English law, bitcoin is classified as property, so victims can claim ownership of the bitcoins themselves—including the 200-fold increase in value. Chinese law does not recognize bitcoin as property. Judgments involving crypto typically support repayment of the original investment plus interest. Put simply: if you invested 100 yuan and the coins bought with that money rose in value to 20,000 yuan, the law recognizes only your original 100 yuan, plus a little interest. The remaining 19,900 yuan has nothing to do with you.
Lantian Gerui was established in March 2014 and issued 10 wealth-management products promising returns of one to three times the investment. At its peak, it attracted more than 120,000 investors and raised over 40 billion yuan in total. The scheme's operator, Qian Zhimin, also known by the alias “Sister Hua,” used a large portion of the funds to accumulate bitcoin on a certain exchange. Evidence presented in the English court showed that she may have handled as many as 190,000 bitcoins, of which around 120,000 remain unaccounted for 🐋
Repayments collapsed in July 2017. Qian Zhimin fled to the UK using a forged passport. In 2018, she tried to buy a £23.5 million mansion in London with bitcoin, but the deal fell through because she could not explain the source of the funds. In May 2021, UK police seized around 61,000 bitcoins, then worth more than £3 billion—the largest cryptocurrency seizure in law-enforcement history. In November 2025, she was sentenced in London to 11 years and eight months in prison. Accomplices in China had already been sentenced. Across two rounds of compensation, victims have recovered only around 13% of their principal.
What’s even more chilling is that the UK has an asset-recovery incentive scheme called ARIS. If recovered criminal assets have no lawful claimant, 50% goes to the UK Treasury. If victims recover only their principal under Chinese law, the 200-fold increase may have no lawful claimant—and is quite likely to flow into the UK’s coffers. The coins bought with victims’ hard-earned money rose 200-fold, but the gains may end up in another country’s treasury 📈
The ruling is not yet final. The court said the evidence still requires further examination, and the parties may appeal. The 61,000 bitcoins are sitting in a custodial account, fluctuating in value—and continuing to appreciate—every day.
Here’s a point worth remembering: how the property status of crypto assets is determined directly decides whether your coins count as your money. This isn’t a technical issue; it’s a question of jurisdiction. For cross-border crypto, ownership often depends on which country’s court seizes it first, and whether that country’s laws recognize it. The UK High Court ruled that Chinese law applies in the Qian Zhimin case. The implications could affect an entire generation of cross-border crypto holders.
Let’s discuss in the comments: who do you think will ultimately get the 200-fold increase in value? Do the victims have a chance of turning things around on appeal?
Every day, we bring you the latest developments in crypto—not just what’s happening, but also the logic and opportunities behind the headlines 👀🚀