The Nanterre commercial court in France has ruled that Bitcoin (BTC) is recognized as a currency - a development that could have a significant impact on the cryptocurrency market in France. Recently, financial regulators in Germany have classified cryptos as financial instruments, which further promotes the increasing legalization of digital currencies.
The judge stated that Bitcoin is an "interchangeable, intangible good". Therefore, the cryptocurrency would be similar to other currencies like the euro.
According to lawyer Hubert de Vauplane from Kramer & Levin, this decision means that Bitcoin is legalized as money. In his view, the number of Bitcoin transactions from France could now increase significantly. In addition, Bitcoin can be linked to investment and savings products. For example, loans could be provided with Bitcoin as security.
Litigation between crypto exchange and British investors
The judgment came about due to a legal dispute between the French crypto exchange Paymium and the British investor BitSpread.
In 2014 Paymium BitSpread borrowed a certain amount in Bitcoin. According to the hard fork of Bitcoin, which created the cryptocurrency Bitcoin Cash, every Bitcoin owner received Bitcoin Cash in a ratio of 1: 1. The question then arose whether BitSpread would have to repay the free BCH (for the loan) to Paymium
It ultimately decided that Bitcoin Cash belonged to BitSpread, just like dividends paid to a shareholder.
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