Japanese Court: Bitcoins Not "Tangible Property"
Following the collapse of Mt. Gox and the subsequent case of the missing 750,000 BTC, much legal legal has been undertaken, from bankruptcy filing to damage suits against what was once the world's leading Bitcoin exchange, market maker, and price setter. For some time, a lawsuit regarding 458 BTC has been proceeding in a Tokyo court, a Kyoto claimant asking that the court rule his money be returned. Also read: Mt. Gox's Mark Karpeles: Of Cats, Temp. Unavailable Bitcoins & Double Lattes With Whipped Cream. In a surprising turn of events counter to rulings in places like Kentucky, Judge....
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Some of us might have already heard about the recent developments in Mt Gox case. Mark Karpeles was arrested and questioned in Japan. There are suspicions about his involvement in multiple instances of fraud and embezzlement in relation to the Mt Gox operations. READ MORE: Master of Mt Gox, Mark Karpeles Picked Up by Japanese Cops. Now that the word is out about his direct involvement in the downfall of Mt Gox, we can expect a lot of lawsuits filed by those who lost a lot of bitcoins during the Mt Gox fiasco. The series of lawsuits has already started, with the first one filed anonymously....
Adding to the long list of suits against downed Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox, all of which have to wait for Japanese court action to finish in 2015, three Japanese creditors of Mt. Gox have filed a lawsuit against their former Bitcoin exchange. According to the Japan Times, The three creditors filed lawsuit in Tokyo District Court recently, demanding that Mark Karpeles pay 23.5 million Yen in damages. The suit claimed that Karpeles was "aware of the possibility of illicit withdrawals (of bitcoins) due to fragility of the firm's (computer) system." The suit further claims that "the firm....
This is a guest post by Drew Hinkes, an attorney at Berger Singerman. Drew is also frequently published and cited for his work on IT and technology-related issues, including virtual currencies, smart contracts, distributed ledger-based technologies, computer data security/breaches, and technology regulation. Tokyo District Court Judge Masumi Kurachi recently rejected a claim for relief brought by a Kyoto man against the Mt. Gox bankruptcy receiver for bitcoin lost as a result of Mt. Gox's collapse. In his ruling, Kurachi opined that bitcoin is "not subject to ownership." The court ruled....
A homeowner in Quebec is looking to exchange his beautiful 16-acre lakefront property for $3.95 million (CAD) in bitcoins, according to an announcement made on Thursday. Located on Lake Mempremagog, the estate (called 'Le Porte Bonheur') is embellished with centennial pine trees. Under current law, the property is large enough to accommodate seven homes, should the next owner take the land development route. For those who don't, prospective homeowners can enjoy a boat house, guest house, and tennis court all on the property. The upper level of the main property includes a spacious loft....
A Chinese intermediate court based in Beijing recently upheld a lower court’s ruling which determined that cryptocurrency is a virtual property protected by the law. The court clarified that regulations issued by the Bank of China and others only prohibit the circulation of virtual currency. ‘Financing Behaviour Prohibited by the Law’ An intermediate court in China recently upheld a lower court’s ruling that designated litecoin a virtual property protected by the country’s laws, a report has said. The court clarified that the country’s relevant....