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27 February 2026
Issue: 8151 / Categories: Legal News , Crypto , Technology , Criminal , Fraud , Cybercrime
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NLJ this week: Crypto fightback offers ‘new frontier for law’

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A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes

Yet the surge presents opportunity: asset tracing and cross-border injunctions are moving centre stage as courts treat stolen tokens as recoverable property. With legal costs topping £250,000, specialist firms now blend recovery with insurance, while preventive tools flag suspect wallets before funds vanish.

‘Crypto recovery’, Holloway argues, is no mere niche but ‘a defining feature of commercial litigation’—essential if digital assets are to become a ‘legitimate, trusted pillar’ rather than a risky frontier.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Harneys—Maggie Kwok & George Weston

Harneys—Maggie Kwok & George Weston

Harneys senior leadership appointments

Freeths—Keith Browne & Jim Jordan

Freeths—Keith Browne & Jim Jordan

Freeths strengthens London Construction and Engineering practice with two strategic senior hires

Anthony Collins—Laura Moss

Anthony Collins—Laura Moss

Anthony Collins announces strategic hire to deepen skills base in the social business sector

NEWS
More than 100 teams from the legal and financial services sectors competed in five sports at the 51st Law Society RFC Festival of Sport earlier this month
Part-time status need only be an effective cause of less favourable treatment, rather than the sole cause, the Supreme Court has held in Augustine v Data Cars
Britain’s new acknowledgement that Israel’s occupation is unlawful, and accompanying settlement-goods ban and sanctions, is significant but overdue, argue Danny Friedman KC and Victor Kattan in NLJ this week
New planning fee rises, wider trade union access rights and a service-by-email trap feature in Stephen Gold’s latest Civil Way
Existing defamation law can respond to AI ‘hallucinations’, but allocating responsibility will prove harder where outputs reach users without human intervention
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