property theft cryptocurrency
Is cryptocurrency more like money or stuff with regards theft?
<p>I am sure there is a word that describes this concept, but I do not know it so I shall have to describe it. Suppose Alice has a mobile phone, Broke Bob steals it, sells it to Charlie's Mobile Phone Shop for £100, loses the £100, then admits to the crime. In this case, Alice retains ownership of the phone, Charlie must return it and is out of pocket. Alternatively, if Alice has £100, Broke Bob steals it, takes it to Charlie's Mobile Phone Shop and buys a phone, loses the phone, then admits to the crime. In this case, Charlie retains ownership of the £100, and Alice is out of pocket.</p>
<p>Which is cryptocurrency more like? The situation I am concerned with is if one buys cryptocurrency that later turns out to have been involved in some form of crime, could you lose ownership of the currency in a way that you could not with actual money, but could with other goods?</p>

<h2>Cryptocurrency is like the phone</h2>
<p>Money is a negotiable instrument which means that an owner in good faith has a better claim than the true owner. No jurisdiction has given this status to crypto.</p>
