Are There Historical Precedents for How Crypto Assets Are Treated in Bankruptcy?

Yes, the bankruptcies of exchanges like Mt. Gox and more recently Celsius and FTX have set important precedents for how crypto assets are treated. In these cases, a key legal question has been whether the crypto assets held by the exchange are the property of the users or the company.

The outcome often depends on the exchange's terms of service. In the Celsius case, the court ruled that most users had transferred ownership of their crypto to the company, making them unsecured creditors.

This highlights the critical importance of the legal agreements users accept.