Surge in Cryptocurrency-Related Court Cases in Russia

In 2023, Russian courts examined 2,653 cases related to cryptocurrencies, a fivefold increase from the 510 cases in 2021. This information comes from a study by the educational platform Moscow Digital School and the law firm EBR, available to ForkLog.

62% of last year’s proceedings were related to bankruptcy disputes, marking a 91% rise from 2022. The number of civil cases rose by 60%, criminal cases by 34%, and administrative cases by 19%.

Experts attribute this growth to the development of the crypto market and increasing interest from the public and businesses, as well as the emergence of fraudulent schemes.

The majority of criminal cases involved the purchase of drugs using cryptocurrency and asset theft.

Civil disputes mainly concern the return of funds invested in crypto projects. Courts often reject such claims, citing the lack of legislative regulation of cryptocurrencies as objects of civil rights.

In bankruptcy cases, courts treat cryptocurrencies as property, according to the definition in the law “On DFA“.

Disputes over the recovery of debts for electricity consumed in the mining process often end in favor of energy companies.

As reported in a study by RTM Group, in 2022, Russian courts issued 1,758 decisions concerning cryptocurrencies. Analysts had already predicted an increase in such cases.

Earlier, an expert informed ForkLog about the sale of digital assets for debt repayment in Russia.