Coinbase UK settles $1 million Bitcoin theft case out of court
|- Robertson lost his Bitcoin worth more than a million dollars in an email phishing attack.
- Hackers transferred 80 BTC o Coinbase, 15 BTC to LocalBitcoins and 5 BTC to an offline wallet.
- A Bankers Trust Order from the court allowed Coinbase to reveal the owner of the wallet with the 80 BTC.
The branch of the leading cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, Coinbase UK has agreed on a settlement involving a digital asset fund manager. The manager of Alphabit Liam Robertson filed a case following the transfer of more than one million dollars to Coinbase.
The decision to settle comes after a two months-long legal dispute between Robertson and Coinbase UK. Robertson lost his Bitcoin worth more than a million dollars in an email phishing attack. He decided to put more than 100 BTC in what is called an algorithmic trading fund. Unfortunately, attackers got hold of the BTC before the investment process was completed. The Bitcoin was deposited in a different wallet address.
Following an investigation into the matter, it was found that 80 BTC had been transferred to Coinbase. 15 of the BTC had been sent to LocalBitcoins and the remaining 5 BTC sent to an offline wallet.
Robertson was accorded asset preservation in August which barred Coinbase from transferring the Bitcoin. At the same time, he later got a Bankers Trust Oder that compelled Coinbase to reveal the controller of the wallet holding the 80 BTC.
The ruling in this case, could set precedent the future cases involving Bitcoin. It could help define Bitcoin as legal property in the UK and also help investors who fall victim to fraudsters.
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