Ajax on Nostr: The UK High Court reaffirming the position (under UK law at least) that bitcoin is ...

The UK High Court reaffirming the position (under UK law at least) that bitcoin is property. This was enshrined in UK statue by the Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025, but actually the principle was first established in New Zealand of all places in the Russell v Cryptopia case.

The full judgment with the analysis under the UK's Proceeds of Crime Act can be found here and makes for some interesting reading, if you're a lawyer. Much of it turns on conflicts of laws principles - *YAWN*...

https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewhc/kb/2026/2509#end-of-document

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UK High Court: Chinese law governs claims to 61,000 bitcoin seized from Zhimin Qian.

Justice Mark Turner found the fraud, the contracts, and the losses all happened in China, so English tracing cannot revive property rights lost under Chinese law.

The coins are worth about $5 billion near $83,200.

Ownership is still open.

Fieldfisher is appealing.

The CPS says a later hearing will test whether any victim can prove a proprietary interest.