Do the developers of Bitcoin code owe fiduciary duties to an owner of that cryptocurrency to help the owner retrieve lost or inaccessible bitcoin after the owner’s private key has been hacked? They might ruled the U.K. Court of Appeal in Tulip Trading Limited v Bitcoin Association For BSV & Ors [2023] EWCA Civ 83 (03 February 2023), a decision that overturned a lower court judge who ruled there was no basis to obtain such relief.
While the decision of the Court of Appeal provides Tulip, the owner who allegedly lost $4 billion in bitcoin, with a potential remedy, what is surprising is that Tulip relied principally on direct causes of action against the developers, being fiduciary duty and a duty of care in tort.…
