Australian Judge Says Crypto Is a Legitimate Investment Vehicle

As part of a defamation case in front of the New South Wales, or NSW district court, Judge Judith Gibson allowed cryptocurrency usage as collateral.

“This is a recognized form of investment," Gibson said of cryptocurrency, also acknowledging its volatility, according to a brief from the Australian Associated Press.

The plaintiff vies for crypto usage

As part of the defamation case, the NSW court stated the accusing party must place $20,000 AUD, or approximately $13,000 USD, in a bank account guarded by the courts. Should the accusing party lose or secede, the funds would pay for a portion of the defendant's legal fees.

Instead of a bank account, the court allowed the plaintiff to use their cryptocurrency exchange account.

The account requires monitoring

Given concerns of instability from the defendant’s legal team, the plaintiff agreed to provide reports each month on the status of the crypto account’s value.

The courts also required the plaintiff to notify the defendant's solicitor if the crypto account’s value falls south of $20,000 AUD.

"I can see the desirability of the defendant receiving prompt notification of any drop in the value of the account,” Gibson said. "These are uncertain financial times."

Cointelegraph reached out to the court for additional details, but received no response as of press time. This article will be updated should we receive a response.

Although cryptocurrency usage as collateral is not the most glamorous use case, it shows growing industry validity in the eyes of governments worldwide.