Description

The technology of Blockchains and Crypto-currencies are extremely complex and when parties litigate, they themselves must understand the technology and present the technology to the court in a clear and comprehensive fashion. In the recent UK High Court decision of D’Aloia v Persons Unknown [2024] EWHC 2342, the poor pleadings and evidence presented, including the evidence of both experts, resulted in the court misunderstanding the technology, which led it to apply inappropriate legal principles. Further, as the case dealt with a claimant who sought to recover assets following a fraud, the numerous issues regarding KYC/AML in cross-border disputes also raised challenges for a sound legal resolution. This seminar will deep-dive into the judgment, elucidate the technology and argue that the court erred in numerous fundamental ways, in terms of the technology and the application of the law, including expounding the court’s poor appreciation of the nature of tracing possible on crypto-currencies which led it to conclude that tracing was not possible due to commingled assets.