Overview
- In a December 11, 2025 ruling, the top court issued its first explicit confirmation that exchange‑custodied Bitcoin qualifies as seizable property under the Criminal Procedure Act.
- The case involved a 2020 seizure of 55.6 BTC from an exchange account held by a suspect known as Mr. A, whose claim that only physical objects can be seized was rejected.
- Justices held that seizure targets include electronic information and that Bitcoin is an electronic token subject to practical control via private keys, satisfying legal requirements.
- The ruling builds on Supreme Court precedents from 2018 and 2021 that recognized cryptocurrencies as intangible property and property interests in criminal cases.
- Exchanges such as Upbit and Bithumb face clearer obligations to execute seizure orders as regulators pursue payment‑freeze proposals, with implications for a market of over 16 million domestic crypto accounts and forthcoming Phase 2 legislation and planned spot Bitcoin ETF approvals in 2026.