Divorce proceedings in New York went differently than expected when an accountant discovered the husband’s hidden stash of 12 Bitcoin (BTC). She was shocked by the discovery, as the coins represent a value of approximately $325,000 at the current bitcoin price.
Woman had no knowledge of crypto investments
The couple had been married for 10 years, but a few months into the divorce proceedings, she noticed something wasn’t right. Under the pseudonym Sarita made the woman known to CNBC that her husband’s reported assets did not match his alleged annual income of $3 million.
She therefore suspected that her husband had not disclosed all his assets and hired a forensic accountant. She was surprised when she learned about the secret crypto wallet and said the following to CNBC:
“I’ve heard of bitcoin and things like that, but I just didn’t know much about it. I never thought of it because it’s not like we discussed it together or made investments together. It was definitely a shock.”
As a result of the discovery, the woman’s husband will be forced to give up part of his bitcoins. It is often extremely difficult to link a wallet to a person. That makes it all the more special in the current case that the accountant was able to trace the bitcoins.
An American divorce where 1,000 bitcoins were at stake
‘Crypto divorces’ seem to be becoming more and more common. In February there was another well-to-do couple from San Francisco who broke up. A protracted battle ensued over the division of all possessions. The man was found to have bought 1,000 BTC in 2013, which is worth $27 million at the current price. Eventually, the man was ordered to pay his ex-wife $6 million for his negligence in declaring his crypto assets.