High Court takes on Bitcoin case
The High Court will hear a case that could settle the issue of whether cryptocurrency is property capable of possession.
A Tasmanian cryptocurrency entrepreneur ordered to pay $50,000 in damages to a first-time Bitcoin investor has won the right to challenge the verdict in the High Court.
The case — Poulton v Conrad — could settle the issue of whether cryptocurrency constitutes a class of property capable of immediate possession, an issue on which courts in Victoria and England have taken differing positions.
Adam Poulton agreed to invest $10,000 in Bitcoin on behalf of chiropractor Jeff Conrad in 2013 via his "Get Paid in Bitcoin" company, but retained a portion of the outlay as a fee for his services. Poulton was also operating a fish-tank servicing business at the time.
Poulton provided Conrad with a Bitcoin wallet, telling him that the wallet had "10.5 Bitcoins on it". In 2017, Conrad learned that the wallet only provided access to 6 Bitcoin.
