San Francisco judge orders bail payment in Bitcoin

A federal judge in San Fracisco has ordered a cyber-criminal to pay their bail charges in Bitcoin, inadvertently stimulating cryptocurrency mainstream adoption.

The Daily Post – a local Palo Alto newspaper – reports Martin Marisch has been charged with hacking the well-known video games company Electronic Arts, responsible for popular titles like FIFA, The Sims, and Battlefield.

Marisch, the Daily Post reports, managed to gain access to EA’s central computer systems, and obtain 25,000 customer records. Had the attack not been caught, Marisch could’ve used this information for substantial financial gain.

Federal Judge Jacqueline Corley ordered the defendant to pay the equivalent of $750,000 in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, to be released on bail. Given the volatility of cryptocurrency, the amount required to pay this sum will be changing on a daily basis.

While some enthusiasts have celebrated the Bitcoin bail order as another case of cryptocurrency mass adoption, there is a much more rational legal explanation for why cryptocurrencies can be accepted as bail payment.

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