Tax Training – 17/01/2025 – Adrian Cartland: Blockchain Tech

Re Blockchain Tech held that in Australia a person’s interest in Bitcoin is property. Although the case concerns BTC, the most important thing is the reasoning of how an piece of software which has no legal, equitable or legislative rights, obligations or enforcement mechanisms, can constitute property. More important than the treatment of magic internet money, determining that the information in software constitutes property has much broader implications. Strangely, the case misses the obvious point that BTC has been legal tender in El Salvador since 7 September 2021, and hence a form of property due to its legislative rights. Nevertheless, the case is worth examining because the reasoning applies to other cryptocurrencies which are not presently legal tender. Once finished this discussion we will move to Van Loon v. United States Dep’t of the Treasury 2024 WL 4891474 which held that Tornado Cash was not property.

Please see below link to case materials which is assumed reading in order to participate in the discussion:

Re Blockchain Tech Pty Ltd [2024] VSC 690