Thailand’s highest court determined that bitcoin functions as property within the context of a robbery trial, dismissing a convict’s assertion that the digital asset lacked inherent worth.
The legal matter stemmed from an incident in September 2022 on Koh Samui, where an individual was compelled to swap fifty thousand dollars for roughly 2.48 BTC and send those funds to assailants, as reported by domestic publication Thaiger. Back then, bitcoin traded near the twenty thousand dollar mark.
The central debate focused on whether digital assets could legally constitute stolen property during a heist. The judiciary concluded that converting the complainant’s funds into bitcoin did not strip away its economic worth or disqualify it from being treated as property.
Within an official summary, the court explained that its full bench determined bitcoin possesses market value, can be traded for fiat currency given a willing buyer, and is capable of being owned by private citizens.
The translated Thai summary quoted the court stating that the worth of the transferred funds satisfies the legal criteria for a property crime.
The magistrates referenced the nation’s digital asset business decree from 2018, which classifies cryptocurrencies as digital information generated on a ledger to serve as a medium for trades.
Furthermore, the tribunal evaluated a communication from the Bank of Thailand clarifying that cryptocurrency does not serve as official legal tender. However, that lack of official currency status failed to stop bitcoin from being categorized as property for criminal proceedings.
Local reporting from Bitcoin Addict detailed that the perpetrators approached the victim alongside his spouse at a cafe, made threats against the household, and physically harmed him prior to coercing the digital currency transfer. The specific defendant on trial assisted by organizing lodging and transit for the perpetrators.
Media sources indicated that the Supreme Court sustained a decade-long prison term. The initial court originally handed down fifteen years before shaving off one third because the testimony given by the defendant aided the investigation. Additionally, the lower tribunal mandated that the bitcoin be handed back to the aggrieved party.
Originally published at https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/10/29/thai-supreme-court-rules-bitcoin-is-property-after-thief-challenges-conviction.
