header-logo header-logo

Cryptocurrency watch: tiptoeing through the tulips

07 July 2023 / Lauren Pardoe
Issue: 8032 / Categories: Features , Profession , Cyber , Technology , Cybercrime
printer mail-detail
129411
Could software developers be held accountable in cryptocurrency hacking cases? Lauren Pardoe considers the definition of ‘fiduciary’ in a fast-developing area of the law
  • A recent jurisdiction challenge has raised the question of whether cryptocurrency network developers are accountable as fiduciaries.
  • The Court of Appeal concluded it is possible for developers to meet the fiduciary definition.
  • This may have implications for victims of cryptocurrency fraud.

Cryptocurrency is a new and fast-developing area, in which there has to date been little in the way of judicial intervention, and in which there is little regulation. The argument lies in whether the developers of cryptocurrency networks, working on behalf of bitcoin owners, are accountable as fiduciaries if such networks are hacked, as seen in Tulip Trading Ltd (a Seychelles company) v Van Der Laan and others [2023] EWCA Civ 83, [2023] All ER (D) 27 (Feb).

Case summary

This claim was brought by a Seychelles-registered company, Tulip Trading Ltd, which is the owner of some bitcoin (valued at

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll