A nonfungible token (NFT) was used by law firms Holland & Knight and Bluestone to serve a defendant in a hacking case with a temporary restraining order, marking the first known legal process aided by an NFT.
The so-called “service token” or “service NFT” was served to an unknown defendant in a hacking case involving LCX, a cryptocurrency exchange based in Liechtenstein that was hacked for over $8 million in January by two law firms.
The attack compromised the platform’s hot wallets, resulting in the loss of Ether (ETH), USD Coin (USDC), and other cryptocurrencies, according to Cointelegraph at the time.
On June 7, LCX claimed that around 60% of the stolen cash had been frozen, with investigations ongoing in Liechtenstein, Ireland, Spain, and the United States.
Based on a court judgment from the New York Supreme Court, Centre Consortium, a company created by USDC issuer Circle and crypto exchange Coinbase, has frozen around $1.3 million in USDC.
The monies were laundered through Tornado Cash, according to LCX, but were later tracked using “algorithmic forensic analysis.” The organization was also able to identify the hacker wallets as a result of the investigation.
In light of these findings, the law firms representing LCX, Holland & Knight, and Bluestone, served the unnamed defendant with a temporary restraining order issued on-chain using an NFT.
According to LCX, this system “was allowed by the New York Supreme Court and is an example of how innovation can bring legitimacy and transparency to a market that some say is ungovernable.”
