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A bitcoin investor sued the Huobi exchange to recover 400,000 yuan he lost while trading.
Also Read: Thailand’s Regulators Allow Bitcoin Futures Trading
Too Much Pressure Trading Bitcoin
Wang Tieliang filed a lawsuit against Huobi and its two partners in Beijing to invalidate his bitcoin trades on the exchange. According to Wang, he deposited 1.4 million yuan at Huobi to speculate on bitcoin in October of 2016. But within a few months, he couldn’t handle the pressure to see himself losing money, and cashed out once and for all.
The plaintiff told the court that his trades at Huobi should be invalidated because bitcoin doesn’t exist:
Bitcoin does not exist and is not a legal tender. Marxism says that a commodity should have price and value and clearly bitcoin can not be classed as a commodity. Besides, bitcoin is not a real currency for it is not issued by the central bank. Therefore, it shall not be used to trade or as a payment method.
Huobi argued that Wang doesn’t understand what bitcoin is. And it’s not Huobi that traded with him, it’s other users at the platform. Huobi only serves as a third-party platform that has been operating lawfully. Huobi added that the price of bitcoin is decided by the market, not by the platform.
Another two Beijing-based companies pleaded that they only help Huobi receive users’ deposits. As such, they have nothing to do with Wang’s losses.
The Court Judgement
The People’s Court of Haidian District, Beijing dismissed the lawsuit, saying investors should be responsible for their own losses. The court judgement explained:
When users trade bitcoin they are supposed to fully understand relative risks concerning it. They should invest only the amount they can afford to lose and undertake all responsibilities.
The court judge noted that bitcoin is not a commodity. It has no use value. The PBOC has no right to define bitcoin as a virtual commodity. And Huobi has no right to trade bitcoin. It can only offer trade services.
What do you think of the lawsuit? Do you agree with the judge? Leave your thoughts below.
Images via Shutterstock, China Judgement Online.
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