Key Takeaways
- The ruling ends the dispute over the repayment of 22 Bitcoin, which Nguyen lent to Tambosso with the expectation it would be repaid within 48 hours.
- As per Nguyen, Tambosso claimed he needed the Bitcoin urgently for a security procedure
In a recent decision, the Supreme Court of British Columbia ordered Daniel Tambosso to repay Hung Nguyen $1.2 million for a Bitcoin loan made in 2021. The ruling ends a contentious dispute over the repayment of 22 Bitcoin, which Nguyen lent to Tambosso with the expectation it would be repaid within 48 hours.
Nguyen, a Canadian real estate agent, loaned Tambosso 18 Bitcoin in September 2021, when Bitcoin was trading at over $53,000 each. Soon after, Tambosso requested an additional 7.5 Bitcoin, and Nguyen provided another 4 Bitcoin, bringing the total loan to 22 Bitcoin.
According to Nguyen, Tambosso claimed he needed the Bitcoin urgently for a security procedure designed to protect his cryptocurrency holdings, which he said was linked to Satoshi Nakamoto, the alleged founder of Bitcoin.
Tambosso assured Nguyen that the loan would be returned quickly and that, if the procedure was successful, Nguyen would receive a substantial amount of Bitcoin in return. Despite these promises, the loan was never repaid. This led Nguyen to take the matter to court, arguing that Tambosso’s failure to repay the Bitcoin loan had severely impacted his finances and well-being.
In her August 26 decision, Justice Shelley Fitzpatrick awarded Nguyen $1.2 million in damages, stating that the terms of the loan were clear and Tambosso was obligated to repay it.
Justice Fitzpatrick dismissed Tambosso’s claims that he was a victim of a Ponzi scheme and had lost access to his cryptocurrency holdings. The judge emphasized that the case was about a straightforward loan agreement and the requirement to honor contractual commitments.
Nguyen expressed relief at the ruling, noting the emotional and financial strain he had endured during the dispute. Tambosso, who claimed to have lost billions of dollars due to scams, now works in the HVAC industry to support himself.
Pro-crypto ruling have increased a lot in recent months. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court supported the crypto exchange Coinbase’s request to pause customer lawsuits while it sought to move disputes from courts to private arbitration.
