In a significant legal shift, Chinese courts have begun to acknowledge digital assets as valid forms of property. The rationale is straightforward: if an asset holds a monetary value and can be sold, it should be treated like any other form of property. This new perspective allows for the inheritance of various digital assets, including gaming accounts, virtual items, Bitcoin, domain names, and the rights to operate monetized social media profiles. However, private communications remain non-transferable and will stay with the original platform. A Reddit user compiled notable legal cases illustrating these new rulings. In the first instance, a widow of a gamer was awarded a virtual Golden Knife from the game Zhengtu, valued at approximately $7,350. The court mandated that the proceeds be shared with the deceased's "in-game wife," who had assisted in acquiring the item, granting her a rightful claim to half. In another case, a court instructed platforms to hand over five Bitcoins, a gaming account valued at nearly $30,000, and a social media account boasting 100,000 followers to the deceased's heirs, with the total asset value exceeding $275,000. Additionally, a mother was granted inheritance of 87 gaming accounts belonging to her late son. Despite these developments, there is currently no specific legislation in place addressing "digital inheritance" in China. In contrast, Western platforms like Steam explicitly forbid the transfer of accounts, asserting that users do not own the games outright but merely hold a license for their use. The debate continues: should digital assets be subject to inheritance rights?
Informational material. 18+.
