Italian cryptocurrency exchange BitGrail’s quest halted
Italian law firm BonelliErede has brought the activities of cryptocurrency exchange platform BitGrail to a full stop.
According to BonelliErede, the Court of Florence fully upheld the precautionary measure that, effective 2 May, inhibited the operations of Italy-based BitGrail. The measure also confirmed the seizure of the company’s assets and the appointment of a special administrator.
The precautionary appeal was proposed by BonelliErede as part of the wider bankruptcy proceeding of BitGrail, initiated by the law firm upon request of a user of the platform following the discovery of a shortfall of 17 million tokens of cryptocurrency Nano (XRB), equal to about €120 million.
BonelliErede says it is assisting over 3,000 BitGrail users damaged by this shortfall, coordinated by Espen Enger, with a multidisciplinary team composed by counsel Giuseppe Sbisà, partner Monica Iacoviello and senior associate Alessandrea Frigerio. Senior associate Gianpaolo Ciervo advised on bankruptcy profiles.
BitGrail offered a terse tweet on the matter:
The watchers
Cryptocurrencies have come under a fair amount of scrutiny.
Two weeks ago, Noah Coin provided an informative infographic that tells you “everything you need to know about fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes”.
Just prior to that, Christine Lagarde of the IMF offered a view on an even-handed approach to crypto-assets.
In January, the UK Prime Minister Theresa May and Chancellor Philip Hammond declared their intention to regulate cryptocurrencies.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Geneva, May said the risk that cryptocurrencies can be used by criminals means Britain and other governments should be looking at them “very seriously”.
