Commercial Court of Nanterre, French officially considers Bitcoin as an intangible asset with an exchange value
The Nanterre Commercial Court regards Bitcoin as an intangible asset with an exchange value, meaning a commodity that is interchangeable but cannot be personalized, like fiat.
The Commercial Court of Nanterre officially considers Bitcoin as fiat
For the Commercial Court of Nanterre (France), Bitcoin is an intangible asset with an exchange value. This is an important ruling, which will facilitate exchanges with Bitcoin and ensure better market liquidity.
Court decisions regarding cryptocurrencies are so rare that they always attract considerable attention in public opinion.
The ruling of the Nanterre Commercial Court on February 26, revealed by the electronic newspaper Agefi, was shocking because it was the first ruling in France on this issue, especially when outside the normal court case.
First of all, it allows us to assess the legal nature of Bitcoin. The Nanterre Commercial Court regards Bitcoin as an intangible asset with an exchange value, meaning a commodity that is interchangeable but cannot be personalized, like fiat.
According to Hubert de Vauplane, a lawyer for Kramer & Levin, the scope of this decision is crucial because it allows Bitcoin to be treated like currency or other financial instruments.
Hubert de Vauplane, a lawyer for Kramer & Levin
As a result, it will facilitate Bitcoin transactions, such as lending or selling and repurchasing, which are currently growing and favoring the liquidity of the cryptocurrency market.
The decision was made amid a dispute between France’s Paymium exchange and his alternative investment company BitSpread.
Paymium lent BitSpread 1,000 Bitcoins in 2014, before Bitcoin’s hard fork in 2017, creating a new cryptocurrency called Bitcoin Cash at one on one. The reason for the dispute is whether or not to pay the creditors of Bitcoin Cash.
To answer this question, the Court considered the legal nature of Bitcoin. The Enterprise Development Law provides a general definition of new digital currencies.
Once the judges have considered Bitcoin a tradable asset, lending Bitcoin is a “consumer loan” but not a consumer credit, means ownership of the property transferred to the borrower during the life of the loan.
And so, Bitcoin Cash belongs to the borrower, just like dividends belong to shareholders, according to a court judgment. Some cryptocurrency players disagree with this analysis and regard the Bitcoin split as devaluation.
Currently, Bitcoin is priced at more than $ 9,137, while Bitcoin Cash is only $ 349. One thing is for sure from now on, and all loan contracts will be accompanied by a repayment provision for the creditors in split case.
The legal story between debtor and creditor, before and after the split of cryptocurrencies, promises big legal battles.
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