A group of Bitcoin developers must face a London trial that’ll decide whether they’re responsible for recovering lost or hacked cryptoassets, a judge ruled.
(Bloomberg) — A group of Bitcoin developers must face a London trial that’ll decide whether they’re responsible for recovering lost or hacked cryptoassets, a judge ruled.
The Bitcoin developers, who act as gatekeepers to protect and tweak the software underlying the digital token, should face trial because there is an arguable case that they undertake a role of exercising power over property owned by other people, the judges said in the verdict.
The UK Court of Appeal overturned an earlier ruling that backed the developers’ rights.
Should they lose at trial it could expose developers to claims worth billions from anonymous people and may pose a challenge to the operation of decentralized finance, lawyers representing some of the developers said in an emailed statement.
Among the developers is Roger Ver, known to some as “Bitcoin Jesus” for his evangelistic role in the early days of crypto, and Blockstream co-founders Matt Corallo and Greg Maxwell.
- Read more: Genesis Seeks $21 Million From ‘Bitcoin Jesus’ (Video)
Tulip Trading Ltd., a Seychelles-based company controlled by self-described Bitcoin founder, Craig Wright, had sued a group of developers to recover lost Bitcoin worth about $4 billion in April 2021.
“This is a step toward a properly regulated and well-governed digital asset ecosystem, which should be welcomed by potential and current coin-holders alike.” said Felicity Potter, a partner at Ontiers, a law firm representing Tulip.
–With assistance from Katharine Gemmell and Emily Nicolle.
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