An arm of the popular cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase recently settled an ongoing legal battle with a man who lost 80 Bitcoins (BTC) in an email phishing attack. Coinbase UK is the United Kingdom arm which had reached an undisclosed settlement with the person who lost a substantial amount of Bitcoin (BTC).
The latest cryptocurrency news on this topic were brought by the legal news site Law360 which reported that Coinbase UK reached the settlement with Liam Robertson, exiting a London-launched litigation after Roberston was a victim to hackers stealing the Bitcoins which amounted to $815,744 in the attack.
The reports also show that Robertson lost his Bitcoin in a spear phishing attack. His work-related email account was hacked and 60 of the stolen Bitcoins were diverted to a digital wallet held by Coinbase UK, while another 20 were sent to local exchanges. Robertson then received a Bankers Trust order to reveal the identity of the wallet holder and see whether it was the same person who made the transfer.
Robertson hired attorneys for this case. However, they were featured on many best cryptocurrency news sites for stating that the case could help victims of fraud reclaim stolen cryptocurrency only by classifying the Bitcoin as a specific asset or sum of money. As Law360 also reported in July, a court ordered Coinbase UK to not dissipate or transfer stolen cryptocurrencies, which could potentially open the door for courts across the UK to treat Bitcoin as a property.
In May this year, the UK government led Jurisdiction Taskforce launched a public consultation that will determine the status of crypto assets under English private law. The taskforce at the time said that the uncertain legal status of cryptocurrency in the UK is a major deterrent for potential investors. As Law360 reported, the courts are still waiting for a determination by the official task force.
According to the blockchain security company CipherTrace, outright thefts, scams and other types of misappropriation of funds from cryptocurrency holders and trading platforms have resulted in more than $4.3 billion in losses throughout the past year.
Meanwhile, the latest Bitcoin and altcoin news show that the market is still vulnerable but stable over the past couple of days.
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