French Court Rulling: Bitcoin Is Fungible Intangible Asset Just As Money

Bitcoin recognition continues – This time from the French Commercial Court of Nanterre. Having to establish its role during a lawsuit, the Court ruled that the largest cryptocurrency is a “fungible intangible asset,” similar to fiat money.

Bitcoin Is Money

Back in 2014, Paymium, a French exchange platform loaned 1,000 Bitcoins (worth $9.1 million at the time of this writing) to an English alternative investment company BitSpread.

However, after the August 2017 Bitcoin fork that eventually created Bitcoin Cash, BitSpread got a hold of 1,000 BCH, as well. The two entities couldn’t decide who has the legal rights to the $350,000 worth of Bitcoin Cash coins, so they took the dispute to Court.

Before the Tribunal was able to rule out a verdict, it had to establish the legal nature of Bitcoin. As a local report recently indicated, the Court ultimately decided that the primary cryptocurrency is a fungible intangible asset. It placed it in the same category as FIAT currencies as an interchangeable but not individualizable good.

Speaking on the matter was Huberd de Vauplane, from Kramer & Levin law firm. He outlined that this decision could have a significantly positive impact on the whole crypto market:

“The scope of this decision is considerable because it allows Bitcoin to be treated like money or other financial instruments. It will, therefore, facilitate Bitcoin transactions, such as lending or repo transactions, which are growing, and thus favor the liquidity of the cryptocurrency market.”

Interestingly enough, as the Court considered Bitcoin as a fungible asset, it classified it as “consumer loan,” which transfers ownership property to the borrower. Thus, the Bitcoin Cash coins belong to the borrower, in this case – BitSpread.

Positive News Across The Globe

Cryptocurrencies received massive recognition this week alone. It all started a few days ago when the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) issued guidelines on digital assets. The nation’s authority classified all of them as financial instruments, which is regarded as a significant step in terms of legislation.

Other good news came on Wednesday from the second-most populated country in the world. The Indian Supreme Court lifted a 2018 ban from the Reserve Bank on using virtual assets.

Shortly after, the National Assembly of South Korea amended an existing law and made cryptocurrency trading and holding legal in its borders, as well.