U.K. Court Rules Chinese Law Governs Recovery of Over 61,000 Seized Bitcoins

The U.K. High Court has ruled that Chinese law governs the property claims of Chinese investors seeking to recover more than 61,000 bitcoins seized in Britain’s largest cryptocurrency money-laundering case.

The decision could limit the roughly 16,000 Chinese victims who have joined the U.K. recovery proceedings to recovering their principal and interest, rather than a share of the bitcoins’ gains. The cryptocurrency is now worth about 200 times its original purchase price. The court has not yet decided whether the investors hold property rights in the bitcoins under Chinese law.