South Korean Supreme Court Rules Bitcoin Is an Asset

South Korea’s Supreme Court just ruled that bitcoin is a legally recognizable asset. The landmark ruling occurred on May 30, 2018, and it overturns a decision made by one of the country’s lower courts in a case dating back to last year.

In September 2017, the Suwon District Court charged 33-year-old Ahn with the sale and distribution of child pornography. Operating a website since 2013, Ahn was arrested in May of 2017 for disseminating some 235,000 obscene files. Even though the court handed Ahn a guilty verdict and 18 months in prison for his actions, it did not confiscate the 216 bitcoins Ahn accumulated in exchange for the porn.

According to the court, the government could not seize Ahn’s bitcoins because, unlike other assets tied to illicit dealings, they aren’t tangible.

“It is not appropriate to confiscate bitcoins because they are in the form of electronic files without physical entities, unlike cash,” the court ruled. “Virtual currency cannot assume an objective…