Overview
- The appellate ruling overturns an earlier trial decision that said RuneScape gold was non-rivalrous information and could not be stolen.
- Lord Justice Popplewell concluded the coins are identifiable assets with ascertainable monetary value inside and outside the game.
- Prosecutors allege Andrew Lakeman accessed 68 player accounts in 2018 to remove hundreds of billions of gold pieces.
- Jagex values the seized in-game wealth at about £543,123 based on its conversion to Bonds, with allegations it was sold for Bitcoin.
- The judgment sets a notable precedent for how UK courts may treat virtual currencies, though future cases will still turn on specific facts.