A court in Israel classified bitcoin as an asset

The central district court in Israel in the framework of the case of the founder of the blockchain-startup against the tax service identified Bitcoin as an asset subject to capital gains taxes, reports Globes .

So, in 2011, the creator of DAV.Network, Noam Kopel, acquired bitcoins, which he sold two years later, making a profit of 8.89 million new Israeli shekels ($ 2.29 million). Then Kopel entered a legal dispute with the tax service over the nature of the first cryptocurrency: he believes that it is a foreign currency, and the authorities insist that it is an asset.

Judge Shmuel Bornstein stressed that Bitcoin may cease to exist and lose to another digital currency, therefore, it cannot be considered a currency, especially in a tax context.

Thus, the court ordered Kopel to pay taxes in the amount of $ 830,600, as well as legal costs of $ 8,306. However, the defendant may still appeal to the Supreme Court.

Recall, back in December last year, the Israeli tax service announced that it intends to fight with deviationists from the cryptocurrency sphere. Cryptocurrency holders in the country are subject to capital gains taxes (25-30%).

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