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Magyar28 Oct 2026
Thailand's Supreme Court, sitting as a full plenary session, ruled that Bitcoin a victim was forced to transfer counts as property under criminal law, upholding a 10-year robbery sentence. The ruling recognises Bitcoin as having market value and being capable of possession, but it is not a declaration that Bitcoin is money or legal tender.
Regulation TradeReviewed News Desk
Thailand’s Supreme Court has ruled that Bitcoin is property under Thai criminal law. The decision, Supreme Court judgment No. 4929/2569, was reached by a plenary meeting of the court and upheld a robbery conviction in a case where a victim on Koh Samui was forced to convert cash into Bitcoin and send it to the attackers. The news was first flagged by Watcher.Guru, and Thai outlet Bitcoin Addict reported the details from the court’s published summary.
What happened in the case
According to the summary, prosecutors in Koh Samui charged a defendant with robbery together with five foreign men. All three court levels found that the victim was coerced into exchanging 50,000 US dollars, about 1,878,000 baht at the time, into 2.480801 BTC and transferring it to the group. The provincial court sentenced the defendant to 15 years, reduced by one third to 10 years, and ordered the return of the Bitcoin or its value. The Region 8 Appeal Court upheld that ruling.
On final appeal, the defence argued that the transferred cryptocurrency did not have enough value to count as taking someone else’s property. The Supreme Court rejected that argument.
Why the court said Bitcoin is property
The court pointed to Thailand’s 2018 Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Businesses, which defines cryptocurrency as electronic data units used as a medium of exchange. It also cited a Bank of Thailand letter saying crypto is not legal tender for paying debts, while noting that its price moves with supply and demand.
The judges concluded that Bitcoin has a market value, can be converted to cash when there is a buyer, can be held by ordinary people, has prices that can be checked publicly, and that crypto trading is supervised by the Thai SEC. Because the victim paid real money to acquire the coins, the court said the Bitcoin had value at least equal to the amount transferred, so the offence against property was complete.
The court published the summary on 28 October 2026 in its “selected landmark rulings” series. Bitcoin Addict notes the summary does not state when the judgment was read, and it does not cover other case types such as investment fraud or tax.
What it means for traders
This is a criminal law ruling, not a change in Thailand’s view of Bitcoin as money. Crypto still is not legal tender there. What it does give holders is a top court precedent that stolen or extorted coins are property, which matters for victims of theft, robbery and coercion trying to recover funds through the courts. It also fits a wider trend of courts treating crypto as an asset that can be owned, seized and returned.
For day-to-day trading, nothing changes in the market itself, but legal certainty around ownership is one reason to use regulated, well-tested platforms. See our crypto exchange comparison, our guide on where to buy your first Bitcoin and how we test exchanges. In our tests BingX ranks first and OKX second.
This article is for information only and is not financial advice.
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Sources
- Bitcoin Addict: Bitcoin เป็นทรัพย์ในคดีปล้น ศาลฎีกาพิพากษายืน
- Watcher.Guru Telegram: Thailand's Supreme Court officially recognizes Bitcoin as legal property
News is for information only and is not financial advice. More crypto news
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