Guangxi court ruling: Elderly person bears losses from investing in virtual currency platform themselves; lawsuit against introducer not supported

A Chinese court has ruled that an elderly couple must bear their own losses from a failed overseas virtual-currency mining investment, dismissing their suit against the person who introduced the scheme. The couple, both over 70, initially invested 4,200 yuan and recovered their principal, then put in more than 60,000 yuan before the platform shut down in December 2020 and withdrawals froze. Guangxi's Fusui County People's Court held that the investment violated financial regulatory rules and public order, rendering the wealth-management contract invalid, and that the losses stemmed from the illegal nature of crypto trading and platform risk rather than the intermediary's conduct. The plaintiffs' claims for full repayment plus interest were rejected, and an appellate court upheld the ruling, which is now final. The decision reinforces that Chinese courts treat crypto-investment losses as investor-borne, a stance worth watching as more retail disputes over token and mining platforms reach the courts.