The Commercial Court held in AA v. Person Unknown [2019] EWHC 2556 (Comm) that a cryptocurrency such as bitcoin is a form of property capable of forming the subject of a proprietary injunction, in January. This is the first time the courts have applied the analysis set out in the UK Jurisdiction Taskforce’s legal statement
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First decision on qualification of Bitcoins made by German tax court
By Martin Buenning on
On July 20, 2019 the German tax court for the federal states of Berlin and Brandenburg published the first decision of a German tax court on the qualification of “bitcoins” in a provisional legal protection procedure.
The court confirmed that a bitcoin qualifies as an “asset” for German taxation and (tax) accounting purposes.
At the…
Germany: Berlin court holds that bitcoin is not a financial instrument contrary to the practice of the financial regulator
The German regulatory practice has been to treat bitcoin as a unit of account and thus a financial instrument. Consequently, commercial services involving bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies (including trading, brokerage, operating exchanges, investment advisory ) are regulated activities, requiring the relevant authorisation of Germany’s Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht, or BaFin). On 25 September…
Bitcoin’s Blocksize Debate Continues
As Bitcoin’s (BTC) popularity continues to grow, its network built on 1MB blocks struggles to keep up with the growing number of transactions. Two groups within the Bitcoin community, the “Big Blockers” and “Decentralists,” disagree on how to address the blocksize issue. Big Blockers are focused on realizing Bitcoin’s potential to serve as a cash…
Anticipating Risks From and Responding to Cryptocurrency Theft
By Herbert Kozlov, Andy Moss, Kari Larsen & Jim Barbuto on
On November 20-21, 2017, Tether, the company behind USDT, a digital token backed by fiat currencies like the dollar and euro, disclosed that a hack resulted in the loss of $30.95 million worth of tokens. The Tether hack illuminates the privacy, reputational, financial and recovery risks associated with issuing, owning and storing digital currencies. These…
The FCA Speaks Out on Initial Coin Offerings
By Brett Hillis, Kari Larsen & Alex Murawa on
The initial coin offerings (ICOs) regulatory map has begun to take shape with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Australia offering their opinions on ICOs. The FCA recently stated that ICOs are “very high-risk, speculative investments.” The Dubai…
Busy Summer for Distributed Ledger Technology
By Brett Hillis, Kari Larsen, Michael Selig & Alex Murawa on
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and cryptocurrency have been a hot topic this summer. DLT has begun its transition from a proof-of-concept phase, to a real world deployment. Some of the changes over the last six weeks include: Bitcoin splitting into two currencies; the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), and the Monetary …
New State Blockchain Legislation Clarifies Legal Status of the Technology
By Kari Larsen & Kimberly Chow on
Nevada is the latest state to clarify blockchain’s legal status under state law. The law, Senate Bill 398, was signed by the governor June 5, and prohibits local governments from imposing taxes or fees on the use of a blockchain; requiring a certificate, license, or permit to use a blockchain; or imposing any other…
Ransomware in the Spotlight with Recent Attacks
By Paul Bond, Kimberly Chow, David E. Weiss & Cristina Shea on
This month’s WannaCry ransomware attack is the latest example of how these targeted attacks can cripple operating systems, with the bitcoin payments the price for alleged relief.
In the attack, the WannaCry ransomware computer worm targeted the Microsoft Windows operating system, infecting more than 230,000 computers in 150 countries. The ransomware was allegedly spread through…