A court in Australia has agreed that a crypto exchange account can be used as security for potential legal expenses. Acknowledging the volatile nature of decentralized digital assets, the judge nevertheless conceded that cryptocurrency is a recognized form of investment in the current uncertain financial times.
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$20,000 Worth of Crypto Allowed to Cover Legal Costs
Hearing a defamation claim, the New South Wales District Court was recently asked by the defendant to order the plaintiff to put $20,000 AUD (approx. $13,000 USD) into a court-controlled bank account, the Australian Associated Press reported Thursday. The money is supposed to cover some of the defendant’s expected legal costs if the plaintiff loses the case or decides to withdraw it altogether.
The court accepted the request allowing a cryptocurrency exchange account owned by the plaintiff to be used as security for the potential legal expenses, but a lawyer for the defendant remarked that although the account might be evaluated in Australian dollars, the digital money in it represented a highly unstable investment.
Judge Judith Gibson stated she was prepared to accept that cryptocurrency was volatile. “However, this is a recognized form of investment,” she pointed out in a judgment issued earlier this week. Trying to alleviate the expressed concerns regarding the assets, she also accepted the plaintiff’s undertaking to provide the defendant’s solicitor with monthly statements for the crypto account.
“I can see the desirability of the defendant receiving prompt notification of any drop in the value of the account. These are uncertain financial times,” Judge Gibson added. The plaintiff will be obliged to also alert the defendant’s lawyer if the account’s crypto balance falls below the equivalent of
