Tulip Trading Limited granted permission to serve 16 Bitcoin developers out of jurisdiction in order to recover access to and control of 4 billion pounds worth of Bitcoin stolen in a hack on Dr. Wright’s network in 2020! So if you’ve ever been a victim of digital asset theft, Tulip Trading Limited may be coming to help!
ONTIER, the firm representing Tulip Trading and Dr. Wright announced the news today. The case is moving fast and the developers appear to be based outside the United Kingdom.
This morning’s ruling came following a submission of a 173 page application by ONTIER. Developers for BTC, BCH, BCH ABC, and BSV are in the process of being served.
ONTIER and Dr. Wright claim that blockchain developers owe fiduciary and tortious duties toward their users – this would imply that they have a duty to act when they are aware of transactions involving stolen assets taking place on their chain. It is well established that the law finds duties in similar circumstances – ONTIER is arguing that blockchain technology changes nothing.
In the press release, Paul Ferguson, partner at ONTIER, says this:
“Tulip Trading is, purely and simply, a victim of theft. The hacking was first reported to the Police in February last year. TTL has now been granted permission to seek recovery of its access to and control of its digital assets from those in a position to remedy its loss. The fact that someone has stolen Tulip Trading’s digitally-held, encrypted private Bitcoin keys does not prevent developers from deploying code to enable the rightful owner to regain control of its bitcoin.”
“In what may prove to be a huge relief to many, a ruling in Tulip Trading’s favour would have considerable implications for those who have lost access to their Bitcoin or had coins stolen.”
ONTIER’s argument will be of great interest to many who have been defrauded with Cryptocurrency and digital asset theft.
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