On 23 January 2026, Mr Justice Waksman of the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales (Commercial Court) handed down judgment in Smithers & Anor v Persons Unknown Category 1 & Ors [2026] EWHC 207 (Comm), continuing a freezing injunction over cryptocurrencies originally granted on 13 November 2025. The claim arises from the alleged wrongful removal of cryptocurrencies held by the claimants, who were deceived into parting with the assets by unnamed primary respondents. The judgment addresses both a material non-disclosure relating to the tracing methodology employed and the continued appropriateness of the injunction against the cryptocurrency exchange Binance.
The controlling authority is the court's inherent jurisdiction to grant and continue freezing orders over crypto assets, exercised under the Senior Courts Act 1981. The judgment confirms that cryptocurrency exchanges do not yet hold the same status as banks for purposes of the without-notice application procedure; the court stated it had jurisdiction to hear such applications without prior notice to the exchanges. On the non-disclosure point, the court accepted that a material non-disclosure had occurred, arising from the claimants' tracing expert's undisclosed use of the last-in-first-out (LIFO) methodology for Bitcoin tracing rather than the more reliable UTXO method. The court declined to discharge the injunction, finding the non-disclosure entirely innocent and the risk of actual prejudice to false positives unproven.
Cryptocurrency holders and exchanges subject to freezing orders must understand that innocent third parties caught by such orders have a remedy in damages under the cross-undertaking, but only if they can prove actual loss arising from the order. Claimants pursuing crypto asset recovery claims must ensure that tracing methodology is fully disclosed to the legal team at the earliest stage: failure to do so creates a non-disclosure that, while potentially curable, adds litigation risk and delay. Cryptocurrency exchanges will not be treated as banks for notice purposes and cannot resist such orders on grounds that notice was not given to them prior to the original without-notice application.
The court also permitted disclosure of the identities of cryptoasset holders to relevant law enforcement agencies, noting that exchanges showed greater willingness to cooperate with information requests once law enforcement agencies were involved. Claimants in cryptoasset recovery proceedings who involve enforcement authorities early may obtain information from exchanges more efficiently than through court orders alone. The decision confirms and applies the existing framework for freezing orders over crypto assets; it does not alter the substantive law.
Our firm advises on cryptoasset fraud and recovery matters across multiple jurisdictions and maintains a dedicated partner network for asset tracing, digital forensics, and exchange-related litigation. We can advise on the procedural and substantive requirements for obtaining freezing injunctions over crypto assets in England and Wales, and on disclosure obligations to courts and regulatory authorities. Contact us to discuss your situation. Types of work we handle or can assign to a partner include: cryptoasset freezing injunctions, blockchain forensics and tracing, exchange disclosure orders, cross-border asset recovery, and regulatory compliance for crypto platforms.
Source: Smithers & Anor v Persons Unknown Category 1 & Ors [2026] EWHC 207 (Comm), Business and Property Courts of England and Wales (Commercial Court), judgment of Mr Justice Waksman delivered 23 January 2026, Case No. CL-2025-000503, BAILII: https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Comm/2026/207.html, confirmed 29 April 2026.
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