Blockchain & legal innovation in the making: our CEO, Marcin Zarakowski, recently co-authored a Thomson Reuters article (alongside Matt Green of Lawrence Stephens and Brian Mondoh, barrister) on a groundbreaking method for digital asset recovery.
A look into history
We should start with a quick look back: when Bitcoin underwent hard forks, such as Bitcoin Cash (BCH) in 2017 and Bitcoin Satoshi Vision (BSV) in 2018, these splits created entirely new blockchain networks while retaining the transaction history of Bitcoin. This means that anyone who owned BTC prior to the forks also became an owner of the forked assets (namely, BCH and BSV).
Let’s now use the case of James Howells as an example. In 2013, Howells accidentally discarded a hard drive containing around 8,000 BTC. While his BTC is now likely irretrievable, the situation is different for his forked assets, such as BSV. You can learn more about the case in our past post: Read the post
Digital Asset Recovery framework
This is where BSV’s Digital Asset Recovery (DAR) framework comes in. This innovative system allows for the recovery of lost or stolen assets without altering the blockchain’s history. Instead, according the the Network Access Rules on BSV Blockchain, with a valid court order:
- The order is converted into a machine-readable format and broadcast to all nodes on the BSV network.
- The blockchain nodes, operating under strict access rules, create a new transaction to reassign the assets to the rightful owner.
Therefore, if Howells can prove ownership of his BTC pre-fork, he is also entitled to claim ownership of the equivalent amount of BSV tokens—currently valued at approximately $408,000.
DAR is a significant step in aligning blockchain technology with compliance with the existing property laws, making recovery faster, more precise, and less resource-intensive. This method applies directly to cases like Howells’ and represents a major advancement in blockchain usability and fairness.
If you owned BTC before the hard forks or have lost access to your forked tokens, Token Recovery can help. As the official recovery partner for the BSV Association, we facilitate recovery using these innovative tools and frameworks on an exclusive basis.
