Post
Topic
Board Legal
Re: Legal Tender Laws & Bitcoin
by
twolifeinexile
on 17/01/2013, 14:12:17 UTC
You can't refuse legal tender as payment for a debt, regardless of the terms of your contract, and then expect the court system to enforce your contract.

You don't have to accept legal tender for a sale, but once a debt exists you'll only get to use the government's enforcement powers if you don't refuse legal tender.

Thanks, that's what I thought but I wanted to make sure. In other words, contracts involving bitcoins are not enforceable in courts.


That is not what your interlocutor said.  In principle, any contract specifying an agreed-upon mutual performance on both sides with consideration, regardless of the consideration, is enforceable by a court.  However, Legal Land being Legal Land, actually trying to get a judgment is going to be a shit pie, Bitcoin or not.

In this case, the court should enforce the contract on the USD with reasonable exchange rate or enforce the contract as it is (pay and only pay by bitcoin)?