PANews reported on November 19 that recently, the People's Court of Jiahe County heard a case involving a contract dispute over 'mining' equipment, ruling to dismiss the plaintiff's litigation request. The plaintiff, Pan, communicated with the defendant, Lei, via WeChat to order S19XP Bitcoin 'mining' equipment. After the plaintiff paid 23,678,136.90 USDT (Tether), the two parties had a disagreement regarding the nature of the contract and the settlement price. The plaintiff demanded the return of the price difference of 6,270,457.36 USDT and requested the continued delivery of 149 machines.
The court believes that the focal point of the dispute in this case is the validity of the contract. According to the notice issued by the People's Bank of China and other departments, virtual currencies do not have the status of legal tender, and related transactions are considered illegal financial activities, making civil legal acts invalid. Additionally, the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments have also issued statements prohibiting 'mining' activities for virtual currencies due to their high energy consumption, high carbon emissions, and low contribution to the national economy. Therefore, the plaintiff's act of purchasing S19XP 'mining' equipment from the defendant violates laws and administrative regulations, and goes against public order and good morals, rendering the civil legal act invalid. The court rejected the plaintiff's litigation request, including the demand for the return of Tether and the continued delivery of mining machines, with related consequences to be borne by both parties.
