Case Summary
AA v Persons Unknown [2019] EWHC 3556 (Comm) is a landmark case in English law concerning the legal status of Bitcoin as property and the court’s powers to grant injunctions over digital assets. The case arose after a cyberattack on an insurance company’s customer, in which a hacker encrypted the victim’s data and demanded a ransom in Bitcoin. The claimant, an insurer covering cyberattacks, paid the ransom, later discovering that a substantial portion of the Bitcoin had been transferred to accounts linked to the Bitfinex exchange.
The High Court granted a proprietary injunction, ruling that Bitcoin could be treated as property under English law. The judgment provided significant guidance on how courts should approach digital assets in the context of fraud and restitution claims.
AA v Persons Unknown [2019] is referenced on page 17 of Copper Stopper.