The French court decides that Bitcoin is legal money
A French commercial court has recognized Bitcoin as the currency after a lawsuit between a local cryptocurrency exchange, Paymium, and the investment company BitSpread. With the court ruling, Bitcoin can now be viewed as legal money in France.
The legal status of Bitcoin is identical to that of Fiat
According to a report by the local newspaper Les Echos, the Nanterre Commercial Court on Thursday, March 5, 2020, classified Bitcoin as well as Fiat money as a "fungible intangible asset".
In response to the court decision, lawyer Hubert de Vauplane said:
"The scope of this decision is considerable since Bitcoin can be treated as money or other financial instruments. This therefore facilitates Bitcoin transactions such as loan or buyback transactions that grow and thus promote liquidity in the cryptocurrency market" "
The ruling was made after a dispute between Paymium and Bitpread, in which the former borrowed the last 1,000 BTCs in 2014. A hard fork from Bitcoin created the Altcoin Bitcoin Cash in 2017, which meant that BitSpread had to keep 1,000 BCH extra. The two parties then argued about the beneficial owner of the BCH.
To solve the problem, the French court found Bitcoin to be legal money and classified BTC loans in the consumer loan category. In this type of loan, ownership of ownership passes to the borrower for the duration of the loan. For this reason, the commercial court ruled that the BCH belongs to the Paymium cryptocurrency exchange.
BTCManager recently reported that the South Korean National Assembly has passed a bill to legalize bitcoin in the country.
Pro crypto position of France
France has shown a positive attitude towards the cryptocurrency industry, with various incentives and regulations that it has introduced. In June 2019, the French government announced its intention to introduce strict regulations for ICOs in the country.
To attract investment in virtual currencies, the government has abolished the tax on crypto-crypto transactions, but declares that the tax will apply to digital assets that are converted into fiat money.
In addition, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), an independent financial regulator in France, has authorized Napoleon Asset Management to launch the country's first regulated Bitcoin fund.
