Thailand Supreme Court recognises Bitcoin as legal property in robbery case
The court rejected arguments that digital assets lack value because they are not legal tender, upholding a 10-year sentence for a group that stole 2.48 BTC from a tourist.
Key takeaways
- 1Thai Supreme Court rules Bitcoin is property under Sections 137 and 138 of the Civil Code.
- 2The case involved the robbery of 2.480801 BTC from a tourist on Koh Samui in 2022.
- 3A 10-year prison sentence was upheld, with the court ordering the return of the coins or 1.878m baht.
- 4The ruling confirms digital assets are covered by criminal law despite not being legal tender.
- 5Bitcoin traded at $80,624 at the time of the report, according to YourKhabri data.
Thailand’s Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that Bitcoin is legal property, upholding a 10-year prison sentence for the theft of 2.480801 BTC. The decision concludes a case involving a robbery of a tourist on the island of Koh Samui in 2022. The court ordered the return of the funds or equivalent cash compensation, rejecting claims that digital assets lack legal status.
The incident occurred in September 2022 when a group of five foreign men assaulted a visitor and forced him to transfer Bitcoin then worth approximately $50,000 to a digital wallet. Coinpedia reported that the attackers compelled the victim to convert the funds into exactly 2.480801 BTC during the encounter. The case has since moved through the Thai legal system to the highest court.
During the legal proceedings, the defendant argued that Bitcoin could not be the subject of a robbery charge. He claimed that because the asset lacks a physical form and is not recognised as legal tender in Thailand, it does not qualify as property under criminal law. The defendant's legal team argued that transferring a digital code under threat did not constitute the theft of a tangible object.
The Supreme Court rejected those arguments in a full-bench decision. The judges found that Bitcoin has a measurable market value and is capable of being owned by individuals. They said that the ability to exchange the asset for traditional currency confirms its status as property, regardless of its digital nature or lack of physical substance.
To reach this conclusion, the court referred to Sections 137 and 138 of the Thai Civil and Commercial Code. These sections provide a legal definition of property that includes intangible items with value and ownership potential. The court also pointed to the 2018 Digital Asset Business Emergency Decree, which already recognises cryptocurrency as electronic data used for the exchange of goods or services.
The ruling clarifies that the volatile nature of cryptocurrency prices does not strip it of its legal protections. While the court maintained that Bitcoin is not official money and shops are not required to accept it, it ruled that these factors are irrelevant in a criminal case involving theft. Bitcoin was trading at $80,624 on Wednesday afternoon, a 0.9 per cent increase over 24 hours, according to YourKhabri data.
The final verdict upheld a prison sentence that was originally set at 15 years before being reduced to 10 years. The court ordered the return of the 2.480801 BTC or a payment of 1.878 million baht to the victim. This compensation figure was calculated based on the value of the assets at the time the robbery occurred in late 2022.
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Reported and edited by the YourKhabri desk under our editorial policy. Nothing here is investment advice.