Vol 17 (2020) - Issue 5

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Fighting Cryptocurrency Fraud: What’s in the English Lawyer’s Toolkit?

Synopsis
Cyber criminals reportedly have taken advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic (and lapses in cybersecurity) on a significant scale. We anticipate that knowledge of the developing English and Commonwealth jurisprudence concerning cryptocurrency will become increasingly essential in combatting such fraud. This article: (1) highlights some of the occasions when a litigator
may come across cryptocurrency, (2) outlines some of the interim remedies potentially available where cryptocurrency is concerned; and (3) addresses some of the recent authorities in England and some other Commonwealth jurisdictions dealing with the issue of whether cryptoassets can be considered property, and thus subject to a proprietary claim – a question of particular importance in fraud claims within an insolvency context.