B.C. Court Awards Man Defrauded of $26 Million in Bitcoin a Key Production Order

VANCOUVER — A British Columbia Supreme Court judge has approved requests for production orders to disclose the identities of individuals holding cryptocurrency accounts to an individual who alleges they were defrauded out of $26 million worth of bitcoins linked to someone claiming residence in Vancouver.

The court decision published on Thursday was made last month regarding Lix Xiao Wang, who requested a production order from the courts targeting cryptocurrency exchanges Binance and Coinbase.

The decision states that Wang received a message via WhatsApp in early 2024 from an individual purporting to be a "crypto investment specialist" based in Vancouver. Consequently, Wang transferred approximately $26 million worth of bitcoins to an account on a particular website.

The decision states that Wang grew doubtful when he was unable to access his account and the website’s customer service advised him to transfer additional funds totaling millions to conduct a “security check” mandated for unlocking his account.

Judge Bruce Elwood’s decision states that Wang employed a private detective who tracked the Bitcoin transactions to accounts at Coinbase and Binance, and additionally found out that the British Columbia driving license presented by the suspected swindler to Wang was counterfeit.

Elwood’s decision states that Wang’s plea was considered without informing the corporations involved, and he concluded that these entities must provide details identifying the account owners since they represent “the sole feasible means to obtain personally identifiable information concerning those who committed wrongdoing.”

Located in the U.S., Coinbase and Binance, which has its base in the Cayman Islands, both failed to provide an immediate response to email inquiries regarding the court's decision.

The report from The Canadian Press was initially released on March 13, 2025.

Darryl Greer from The Canadian Press

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