A U.K. High Court judge has allowed a lawsuit over the alleged theft of 2,323 bitcoin, now worth about $172 million, to proceed to trial.
The claimant, Ping Fai Yuen, alleges his estranged wife accessed his hardware wallet recovery phrase using home CCTV and transferred the funds without consent in 2023.
The judge ruled that the primary legal claim of conversion does not apply to digital assets, but allowed the case to continue under alternative claims.
The bitcoin, initially worth about $60 million at the time of the alleged transfer, has since risen significantly in value and is now spread across 71 blockchain addresses.
Court filings noted the funds were held in a Trezor wallet secured by a PIN, though access could be regained using a 24-word recovery phrase.
The case also includes allegations of domestic conflict, with Yuen having pleaded guilty to assault charges following a confrontation related to the missing funds.
The trial is expected to test how English law treats cryptocurrency ownership and recovery, with potential implications for future digital asset disputes.
At the time of reporting, Bitcoin price was $74,814.49.