Cryptocurrency in Divorce: How Spouses Divide Bitcoins, Stablecoins, and Other Tokens

Cryptocurrency in divorce is increasingly becoming a subject of dispute, just like an apartment, a car, or a bank deposit. If the family purchased Bitcoin, stablecoins, or other tokens during the marriage, these assets may be stored on an exchange or in the personal wallet of one of the spouses, but this does not always mean that they belong solely to that person. Leonid Goryainov, editor of the technology platform FutureBY, explains how courts approach such assets, what is considered evidence, and why a digital footprint is especially important in such cases.

Leonid Goryainov.

Is Cryptocurrency Considered Jointly Acquired Property?

When dividing property, spouses usually consider everything that was acquired during the marriage from joint income: real estate, cars, deposits, and valuable items. The same general approach applies to digital assets. For example, if the spouses have 10 bitcoins, each can claim half the value of this asset at the time of division. In practice, it is often not about transferring five bitcoins to the other spouse, but rather about paying monetary compensation for their share.

As a general rule, cryptocurrency is considered jointly acquired property. There is no separate provision for it in Belarusian legislation, but courts treat such assets as tokens, that is, digital signs, objects of civil rights with economic value. If cryptocurrency was purchased during the marriage with joint funds, it can be divided, even if it is registered or stored in the name of one of the spouses.

The mere fact that access to the wallet was only with the husband or only with the wife does not turn the asset into the personal property of the wallet owner. More important is whether a marriage contract was concluded, when the tokens appeared—before or after the marriage registration—and what funds were used to purchase them. The source of the money can even matter, for example, a loan.

As a general rule, Bitcoin and other crypto assets can be included in the property subject to division in a divorce.

The main difficulty in such disputes is evidence. The court will not divide the asset just because one of the spouses is confident in its existence. It needs to be confirmed that the cryptocurrency indeed existed, that it belonged to the spouse, and that it was acquired during the marriage using joint funds.

If One Spouse Traded Cryptocurrency While the Other Did Not Participate

A separate situation arises when one spouse actively bought and sold tokens, while the other did not engage in these operations and may not even have known the details. According to Leonid Goryainov, the fact of active trading does not change the basic principle: if transactions were made during the marriage and with joint funds, the result can still be considered joint property.

The peculiarity of digital assets is that access to the wallet may be with one person, while the property interest lies with both spouses.

There is an important caveat. If one of the spouses spent joint property contrary to the interests of the family—such as on gambling or extremely risky investment operations—the court may take this into account when dividing. However, this is more of an exception than a rule, and the practice in such cases is still being formed.

How to Determine Value for Division

The price of cryptocurrency can change dramatically during a marriage. Therefore, when dividing assets, it is important not only to determine who owns the asset but also what amount should be considered a fair basis for calculation.

Leonid Goryainov explains: the current value of the asset is taken into account. If Bitcoin was purchased for $1,000, but at the time of divorce it is worth $100,000, the division will be based on the current value. Usually, the court leaves the cryptocurrency to the spouse who holds the wallet but requires them to pay the other spouse 50% of the value in the national currency at the exchange rate on the date the case is considered.

When dividing, the value of the crypto asset at the time of the dispute is considered, not the purchase price.

Can Cryptocurrency Be Hidden from a Spouse?

Theoretically, it is possible to hide digital assets, but that does not mean they will always remain unnoticed. The expert compares this situation to jewelry: a box of diamonds can be kept in a bank vault, hidden at home, buried in the garden, or entrusted to someone for safekeeping. The question is whether documents and traces remain.

With crypto assets, wallet addresses, transactions, correspondence, bank movements, and service data are important. In Belarus, there is a registry of virtual wallet addresses. A bailiff can seize cryptocurrency and transfer it to the wallet of the enforcement authority. Each wallet has a unique address, which helps track assets.

Sometimes a spouse denies the existence of cryptocurrency or claims they have long lost access to the wallet. In such cases, mere words are not enough—indirect and direct evidence becomes significant.

Leonid Goryainov advises paying attention to several types of digital and financial traces:

• Bank statements: transfers from cards to crypto exchanges or individuals in P2P transactions;
• Applications and programs: Trust Wallet, MetaMask, exchange terminals, and other services for working with cryptocurrency on the spouse's devices;
• Email: messages about verification, password resets, transaction confirmations, and other communications from crypto services;
• Tax reporting: information about income from cryptocurrency trading, if declared.

Leonid Goryainov emphasizes: unsubstantiated claims in court do not work. Screenshots without financial and payment documents may prove insufficient. To give evidence more weight, it is better to document the inspection of the smartphone and its data with a notary protocol.

Exchange or Cold Wallet: Where It’s Harder to Prove Asset Existence

For cryptocurrency to be recognized as joint property, the method of storage does not have a decisive significance. An asset on an exchange and tokens in a cold wallet can be subject to division. However, when it comes to searching, proving, and enforcing, the difference becomes significant.

If cryptocurrency is stored on an exchange, obtaining information is usually easier: statements can be requested, and the court has the right to send a request to the exchange itself. However, foreign exchanges do not always respond.

With a cold wallet, it is more complicated. If the address and private key are unknown, confirming the existence of the asset and enforcing it is practically impossible. In such a situation, the second spouse risks receiving nothing, even if the asset does exist. If the cryptocurrency is found and seized, it will be liquidated through a crypto platform operator or crypto exchange in the enforcement proceedings.

A cold wallet can significantly complicate the collection of evidence and enforcement.

How to Agree in Advance on the Fate of Digital Assets

Currently, there is no separate mechanism for dividing cryptocurrency in divorce under Belarusian law. However, spouses can address this issue in advance through a prenuptial agreement.

The Family Code does not contain specific rules for cryptocurrencies. Therefore, the most reliable way to eliminate uncertainty in advance is through a prenuptial agreement. It is executed by a notary and can determine the ownership regime for any property, including digital assets: who owns them, how they are divided in case of divorce, and who receives the profits from trading.

A prenuptial agreement helps to determine in advance how digital assets will be distributed.

If there is no prenuptial agreement, general property division rules apply, and disputes in case of conflict are resolved by the court based on the evidence presented.

For many families, cryptocurrency has already become a common part of savings or investments, so such disputes will increase. Spouses in different countries divide Bitcoin, Ethereum, stablecoins, and other crypto assets alongside apartments, cars, and bank deposits. Leonid Goryainov advises those who have already encountered a conflict or suspect their partner has digital assets not to delay collecting evidence: keep bank statements, screenshots, correspondence, and other traces. However, the best way to avoid disputes is to outline the fate of such assets in a prenuptial agreement.