Bitcoin was recognized as property in the trial of the theft of 100 BTC, held in a London court on economic issues. According to Decrypt, the solution is interim and requires ratification.

The plaintiff in the case was the head of the Alphabit fund Liam Robertson, who in July lost $ 1 million in cryptocurrency due to hackers. Then he made a phone transaction with the head of the algorithmic fund in the amount of 100 BTC. The conversation was listened to by an unknown person who sent a letter to Robertson on behalf of the director of the fund and indicated his cryptocurrency wallet address in it.

The next day, 80 BTC of this amount were on Coinbase, 15 BTC on LocalBitcoins, 5 BTC on another third-party wallet.

In British law, cryptocurrencies are considered data, so owners can not demand their return in case of theft. However, Robertson's lawyers were able to prove to the judge that the theft was not a transfer of ownership, so the head of the company remained its rightful owner.

In addition, the recognition of cryptocurrency property through the court allowed the exchange to freeze stolen bitcoins. In turn, the hacker returned them under the pressure of the proceedings.

It will be more difficult to return the remaining 20 BTC, since they are on over-the-counter wallets. If the hacker himself does not return the stolen funds, the court will need to identify the hacker and receive cryptocurrency in accordance with the court decision.

Now the court is awaiting the conclusion of the working group, which until the end of August should determine whether it is legal to recognize Bitcoin as property.

“At present, there is no special legal regulation of cryptocurrencies in the UK, and this, of course, does not help protect the interests of crypto assets owners. The decision is a step towards the recognition of cryptocurrencies as property. And if this decision remains valid, due to the precedent nature of the Anglo-Saxon system of law, bitcoin will increasingly be recognized as property by the British courts, which, in turn, will allow to protect the rights and interests of owners of cryptocurrencies accordingly , ”the member of the Commission on Legal support for the digital economy of the Moscow branch of the Russian Bar Association; Dmitry Zakharov, Director of the Blockchain Lawyers continuing education program.

Recall that in July, a Hangzhou city court recognized bitcoin as “ virtual property .”

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