On the Legal Relationship and Private Law Protection of Virtual Currency Circulation

（Law School ，Wuhan University，Wuhan 430072，Hubei，China）

Abstract：Due to the insufficient supply of regulations and the lack of understanding of blockchain technology，the judgment effect of civil disputes with virtual currency as the subject matter is greatly different. The administrative regulations issued by the central bank and other departments do not deny the legitimacy of the virtual currency itself，but only deny the legitimacy of its circulation as a currency. The virtual currency that is not circulated as a currency should be protected by private law. It is difficult to define virtual currency as the object of real right，currency，creditor's right，data or network virtual property in one size fits all. Therefore，the property value of virtual currency should be affirmed under the existing normative framework， and its specific existence form should be the absence of physical objects. In the transaction relationship，when the virtual currency is exchanged with goods or services，it should be recognized as the reciprocal relationship；when virtual currency is exchanged with fiat currency，it shall be regarded as a trading relationship. The rights and interests enjoyed by virtual currency holders belong to civil interests rather than civil rights. When others infringe on the rights and interests of virtual currency holders， although they cannot be protected by real rights，they can still get tort relief. In the transaction of virtual currency or infringement，the calculation of virtual currency loss should refer to the price accepted by the group of“consensus mechanism”.

Key words：virtual currency；blockchain；legal relationship；protection of private law；consensus mechanism