In the case between the U.S. and defendant Larry Dean Harmon, the president of the court, Beryl A. Howell decided that Bitcoin was a kind of money.
As noted by Bloomberg, Howell said, the term “money” usually refers to a means of exchange, a method of payment, or a store of value. Bitcoin is also included in this coverage. ” said.
The identification of bitcoin as money came as part of the court’s decision not to dismiss charges against Larry Harmon, who runs an unlicensed Bitcoin trading platform to launder money.
Peter Van Valkenburgh, research director of the Coin Center, a Washington-based nonprofit cryptocurrency and Blockchain-focused organization,
“The District Court’s decision means that Bitcoin is treated only in the context of D.C.’s money transfer agencies. law. Situations like this always occur because each state has almost its own definition of money transfer.” he spoke.
Harmon’s service on the dark web is allegedly a way to hide drugs, weapons, and other illegal transactions from law enforcement. The defendant made transactions worth $311 million between 2014 and 2017.
The court also rejected Harmon’s request to release 160 BTC seized by the government.
