2024 FinTech outlook | Crypto litigation
Recovery of fraudulently obtained cryptoassets has been a key driver of crypto litigation in the English courts, and this is set to continue in 2024. English Courts have been ready to deploy remedies such as freezing orders and interim proprietary injunctions and the recent detailed analysis by HHJ Pelling, writing extra-judicially, illustrates that English courts recognise the importance – and the complexities – of this litigation. However, exactly how these remedies should be deployed against exchanges is still a developing area, as shown by the recent decision in Piroozzadeh v Persons Unknown [2023] EWHC 1024. Binance successfully argued that an injunction against it should be discharged and the judgment threw doubt on the basis for any proprietary or restitutionary liability against exchanges. The scope of remedies available to victims of cryptoasset fraud may become clearer if any statutory action is taken following the Law Commission’s final Report on Digital Assets (published on 28 June 2023). The Law Commission proposes explicit statutory recognition of digital assets as a ‘third form’ of property and the creation of an advisory technical group, which will facilitate the creation of a principled set of remedies involving digital assets.