Author: Peter Todd 2015-01-20 17:49:45
Published on: 2015-01-20T17:49:45+00:00
In a discussion on /r/bitcoin, Tamas Blummer stated that owning the private key and owning linked coins are not necessarily the same in court. He explained that in German law, "Eigentum" means ownership, while "Besitz" means the ability to deal with an asset - being able to deal with an asset does not make you its owner. Matt Whitlock responded, saying that this contradicts what is often told to newcomers in the Bitcoin community, as it suggests that Bitcoins have an owner independent of parties with access to their private keys. Peter Todd clarified that Bitcoin technology does not have a concept of "ownership," as this is a legal notion rather than a mathematical one. In other words, the law concerns itself with what should be done, not what can be done.
Updated on: 2023-06-09T15:39:38.053109+00:00