South Korean Court Claims Bitcoin and Ethereum don't seem to be Money

A South Korean court has ruled that cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, Bitcoin, and other cryptocurrencies can't be considered money. Thus, currencies are exempted from the cap on the rate on loans within the country.

According to a report by the Maeil news website, the trial session that passed within the Seoul Central Court last month sided with the management of Bitcoin “A” Company, which filed a lawsuit against Company “B” in civil court over the bitcoins owed on “Bitcoins”. B".

According to the report, Plaintiff A and Defendant B entered into an agreement in October of 2020, whereby Plaintiff A lent Defendant B 30 bitcoins worth $604,320 at the time of the acquisition with the duty to pay monthly interest over the course of the the next six months.

Company “A” filed a lawsuit after the debtor company did not repay the loan in cryptocurrency. By the settlement deadline. the businesses settled on a monthly charge per unit of fifty up to 60% annually.

However, the defendant said that Plaintiff A had breached two regulations that set the annual interest on the loan at 24 percent, the Interest Limitation Act and also the Credit Business Registration Act and therefore the Protection of Finance Users Act.

The court ruled that the arrangement between companies wasn't subject to the present legislation, because the ruling stated:

“Both laws limit the best rate on loans, but during this case, the topic matter of the agreement is bitcoin, not money.”

At the tip of the hearing, the judge ordered the defendant Company “B” to return the Bitcoin, or the equivalent amount of funds transferred, at the Bitcoin market value.

The hearing came after the South Korean government took steps to make a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies.