Kyrrex wins Court of Appeal in Jones v Persons Unknown
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--$BTC #AssetRecovery--Court sets aside judgment that took 98.2 Bitcoin from an exchange that was never a party to the case
The Brooke Law Group LLP is delighted to have been part of the team that succeeded in the Court of Appeal on behalf cryptocurrency exchange Kyrrex Ltd in Jones v Persons Unknown [2026] EWCA Civ 1212. The Court (Peter Jackson, Nugee and Foxton LJJ) set aside a 2022 summary judgment that led to approximately 98.2 BTC being taken from Kyrrex's exchange account, even though Kyrrex was never a party to the proceedings and none of the claimant's Bitcoin was ever traced to its wallet.
Following a cryptocurrency fraud, Mr Jones obtained judgment against Huobi, which Huobi satisfied by debiting a wallet in which Kyrrex held rights. The High Court rejected Kyrrex’s application under CPR 40.9 in 2025.
Reversing that decision, the Court of Appeal confirmed that contractual rights alone can make a non-party directly affected by an order. The question was whether the order should ever have been made. Peter Jackson LJ described Kyrrex as “the unwitting insurer of the claimant’s loss”.
“This is a decision of real importance for the digital asset industry,” said David Orchard, Partner at The Brooke Law Group LLP. “The Court of Appeal has confirmed that when an order reaches into a wallet, those with rights in it are entitled to be heard. We are grateful to Kyrrex for entrusting us with the case, and to our outstanding counsel team. Cases like this call for a firm that combines disputes expertise with a real understanding of how digital assets are held, which is what we bring to our clients.”
The firm instructed Brad Pomfret KC of 23 Essex Street, Mark Lorrell of Millennium Chambers and Ian Chai of Hailsham Chambers. Consequential matters, including security for the Bitcoin, await determination.
For more about the firm’s disputes and digital assets practice, visit www.brooke.law.
Read full Court of Appeal Judgment here.
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