Over the past decade, cryptocurrency issues have arisen in a variety of litigation contexts, including the following:

• Matrimonial disputes, in which property characterization, asset concealment, and valuation are key components of the forensic practitioner’s work product.
• Civil disputes, in which a lack of professional skepticism, an overreliance on Internal Revenue Code Section 409A valuations, and subversive explanations are key pitfalls associated with a forensic practitioner’s work product.
• Criminal disputes, in which valuation standards are inconsistent at best and calculations border on absurdity, often erring on the side of higher values and resulting in more severe sentences.
• Various disputes-involving issues such as service (it has happened via air drop), enforceability, fiduciary duties of developers, and findings of a third-party exchange as a constructive trustee-which are providing mechanisms for recovery and pursuit.

Another growing practice area for commercial-focused practitioners is cryptocurrency mining. Companies interested in mining require an economic analysis to determine whether and how to proceed. Yet too often they rely on sellers of crypto mining equipment for the factors used in their calculations.