A federal judge issued a ruling on Monday, in the case of affirming that Bitcoin qualifies as money. This decision is linked to a criminal case over hacking attacks against JPMorgan Chase & Co and other companies, reports Reuters. The case is U.S. v Murgio et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 15-cr-00769.
The defendant, Anthony Murgio, had attempted to dismiss two charges related to his alleged operation of Coin.mx, which prosecutors have called an unlicensed bitcoin exchange. This was rejected by U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan.
According to Murgio, bitcoin did not qualify as “funds” under the federal law prohibiting the operation of unlicensed money transmitting businesses.
This defense was shut down by Nathan, who wrote that “Bitcoins are funds within the plain meaning of that term. Bitcoins can be accepted as a payment for goods and services or bought directly from an exchange with a bank account. They therefore function as pecuniary resources and are used as a medium of exchange and a means of payment.”
