jakiro
Source: Lawyer Liu Honglin
On the weekend, a friend searched for legal issues related to blockchain on Zhihu. He read several related articles shared by lawyer Honglin in the past. He thought his professionalism was OK, so he made an appointment for my paid consultation, which took half an hour.I answered some of his most concerned questions.After the end, I sorted out the problems and found that they are all confusions that friends in the currency circle often encounter. You might as well summarize them briefly for reference by relevant friends.
1. Is there any legal risk when a company wants to issue coins?
China encourages blockchain technology, but China does not welcome virtual currencies.As individual citizens, investing in and selling virtual currencies is a matter of own benefit and risk. The state does not encourage it, but it does not deny it.The only thing to worry about is whether bank cards or exchange accounts are frozen due to gray and black industries during the buying and selling process.You should know that in the past two years, domestic gangs have jumped to the second largest number in the country, among which virtual currency players account for the majority.
Based on our understanding of China’s virtual currency regulatory policies,There are three things that cannot be done in China:The first is the issuance and fundraising of virtual currencies, which is what we call issuing coins. If a company wants to issue coins and go to the exchange, but your products and services are all aimed at the Chinese market, then you are aimed at Chinese citizens.The promotion of the project is an obvious illegal act.
The second is that virtual currency mining cannot be done in China, especially mining that requires a lot of electricity, such as Bitcoin mining.As for whether the DePIN track, which has been popular recently, will be recognized as virtual currency mining with one-size-fits-all approach, lawyer Honglin personally holds a reserved view.
The third is the virtual currency exchange business.Any promotion and publicity of virtual currency exchanges for Chinese citizens is illegal at home.This is something that many people in China who remotely help virtual currency exchanges to promote projects, so everyone should pay attention to this.It’s not that there is no risk if you don’t work in groups, nor that it’s that the company’s communication with GM is safe.It still underestimates the ability of China’s public security to investigate and handle cases.
2. If the company does not issue coins, is it OK to issue NFTs?
As a neutral technology, NFT itself is not prohibited by law. Whether NFT can be released depends on the corresponding rights and interests.If you are selling NFTs in game props, NFTs in membership cards, or NFTs in avatars, there is no big problem whether it is overseas or in mainland China.For example, the digital assets of the Guangming membership card recently issued by the Shanghai Digital Exchange.I personally think it is the NFT of the membership card.
However, it should be noted that NFTs issued and sold in mainland China can only support users to purchase in RMB, not USDT or ETH.
3. Currently, no written agreement has been signed with the current company. The salary is paid USDT, and the social security is paid by yourself. What are the legal risks??
Many Web3 companies will adopt distributed office methods, which will look more exciting for friends who “join” the company. They do not need to clock in when they are working, and they do not have to pay social security and tax deductions. The money they get will be significantly moreThere are many other friends who work honestly in China.
But everything has two sides.From the perspective of accounting, companies are actually the most welcome to prevent companies from helping pay social security and personal income tax deductions, because they can save a lot of money. You should know that if the company pays you a salary of 10,000 yuan, the actual cost of the company will be required to pay.There are about 14,000 yuan, where did the 4,000 yuan more go?In fact, it is the social security provident fund and other fees deposited to your personal account.And this money is actually a hidden income for workers.
Taxes and social security fees are related to your local residents’ welfare or settlement policies.You may not feel anything now, but when friends in the currency circle have to consider buying a car or buying a house or getting married, having children and going to school, you will find the disadvantages of not paying social security provident fund.
Of course, some friends will take the method of finding service providers to pay, but in this case, if the company wants to fire you, then you obviously cannot be protected by Chinese Labor Law.Some time ago, a friend who worked on Web3 was fired by the company for no reason during pregnancy, but did not receive any compensation in the sense of labor law.Workers’ rights and interests are something that those office workers who only use tokens should pay attention to.
4. I am a basic position in the company and I am responsible for the process development work. If something happens to the company, what legal risks will I have?
Generally speaking, the boss or actual controller of the project who issues coins in the currency circle will choose to live overseas for a long time or have obtained an overseas identity based on their own criminal risk prevention. What to prevent is the criminal legal risks in China..
However, based on operational and labor costs considerations, a large number of employees hired stay in the mainland.
If the worst happens and the company’s projects involve criminal offenses, then employees working in the country will naturally be implicated.This is particularly evident in Web3 startups in Shanghai and Shenzhen.It often happens that the company’s core employees and management will be asked to assist in the investigation, and may even be detained.Based on the principle that the greater the ability, the greater the responsibility, it is usually the case that people above the department head face more criminal liability or pressure, while grassroots staff face lower risks. Of course, this division of responsibilities is not absolute.The core is to look at the specific project, your participation and knowledge as a company staff member.
Previously, a friend who worked in the currency circle for many years went offline to consult lawyer Honglin. Because a project he participated in was investigated by the domestic public security, he was released on bail after staying in the detention center for a few days.After he came out, he was still preparing to find a job in Web3. The reason was very simple, and the company’s salary was high.This friend said frankly: If I could earn more than millions of dollars in this company, I could live in it for a few years.This shocked me very much.
Written at the end
For practitioners in many industries, criminal risks are likely to be something that they will not have in their lifetime.However, in the Web3 industry, preventing criminal legal risks has become a necessary knowledge point for careers.The reason is that this industry is too close to money and financial risks are too high.Therefore, it is not harmful to learn more about legal knowledge related to China’s virtual currency for friends who intend to join a Web3 company or those who are in their company.It is very necessary to find a lawyer who knows what you are not sure about to clear mines.
