Bitcoin Not The Same As Money, Miami-Dade Court Rules

In a closely followed case focused on bitcoin as a currency, a Miami-Dade judge on Monday (July 25) ruled bitcoin doesn’t count as money when declining to pursue charges against a man that law enforcement alleged illegally sold the digital currency.

In the ruling, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Teresa Mary Pooler found that, because bitcoin isn’t backed by a government or a financial institution, it’s not considered “tangible wealth” that can “be hidden under a mattress like cash and gold bars.” She went on to say that, while the court isn’t an expert in economics, it’s clear that bitcoin has more work to do before it can be considered the same as money. “This court is unwilling to punish a man for selling his property to another, when his actions fall under a statute that is so vaguely written that even legal professionals have difficulty finding a singular meaning,” she wrote in the ruling.

The case centers on defendant Michell Espinoza, who was charged with illegally selling and laundering bitcoin valued at $1,500 to undercover detectives. The detectives told the defendant they wanted to use the bitcoin to buy stolen credit card numbers. The case was an important one for both sides. Law enforcement has been having a tough time trying to figure out how bitcoin falls into illegal activities, and this was the first case pursuing money laundering with the digital currency. Back in May, Charles Evans, a Barry University economics professor, told the court that bitcoin isn’t money because it’s not backed by a government or bank. The professor called it “poker chips that people are willing to buy from you.”

While bitcoin can be used for nefarious things, it is also gaining in popularity among mainstream companies, merchants and consumers. Bitcoin is used in greater than 200,000 transactions online per day, and a slew of online retailers accept it as payment. Plutus Tap & Pay, the upcoming Android-only mobile app that will let people make bitcoin and Ethereum contactless payments at any merchant with a compatible device, recently raised more than $1 million in crowdfunding in nine days.