The Swedish government has establish itself in the unforeseen situation of paying out around $1.5 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) to a convicted — and then jailed — drug dealer.

Two years ago, the homo was convicted in a Swedish court for having illegally earned 36 Bitcoin through online drug sales. Yet, Tove Kullberg, his prosecutor at the fourth dimension, had used the Bitcoin'south equivalent value in fiat to brand her instance. The court, therefore, judged that the man should be stripped of his illicitly earned Bitcoin at its then-value of 1.3 million Swedish kronor ($100,000).

In the period following the man's conviction and imprisonment, his crypto stash had appreciated to such an extent that the Swedish Enforcement Authority, tasked with auctioning off the 36 BTC, needed to sell off just 3 BTC to satisfy the court's demands.

That now leaves 33 BTC, worth $1.5 million, which must exist lawfully returned to its owner. Speaking to Swedish radio, Kullberg said that the way she chose to argue her example was, in hindsight, "unfortunate in many ways [...] It has led to consequences I was not able to foresee at the time." She added:

"The lesson to be learned from this is to proceed the value in Bitcoin, that the profit from the criminal offence should be 36 Bitcoin, regardless of what value the Bitcoin has at the fourth dimension."

Kullberg also stressed that as cryptocurrency continues to become ever more widely adopted, prosecution authorities would practice well to invest in educating their workforce in the details of the industry. "The more we increase the level of knowledge within the organization, the fewer mistakes we volition make," she said.

Related: A legal asset afterward all? Governments are cashing in on seized crypto

Cryptocurrencies — whether due to their volatility or technical blueprint — go on to challenge legal government and procedures worldwide. In the United Kingdom, a authorities-sanctioned job strength recently proposed a dispute resolution framework that would help standardize the means of dealing with smart contract disputes. Due to the non-recognition of Bitcoin every bit legal tender or its surrogate, a Russian court last year ruled confronting restituting stolen crypto to the victim of a major offense.