New York woman discovers her husband hid $500,000 in bitcoins during divorce proceedings

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The revelation came months after her divorce proceedings began

With the rise in financial infidelity, many people are now hiding their wealth in crypto wallets, away from the prying eyes of their spouses. In one such recent case, a woman in New York discovered that her husband had stored 12 bitcoins worth $500,000 in a previously undisclosed crypto wallet, CNBC reported. The revelation came a few months after the start of his divorce proceedings.

The woman identified as Sarita grew suspicious because her husband, who earned around $3 million a year, was not disclosing many assets in the divorce case. She then sought the help of a forensic accountant who tracked down her cryptocurrency investment by using blockchain transaction analysis to trace hidden assets.

”I know bitcoin and things like that. I didn’t know much about it. It wasn’t even a thought in my mind, because it’s not like we’re talking about it or making investments together. … It was definitely a shock,” Sarita said.

Divorce attorneys told the outlet that it’s becoming common for people to hide crypto from their partners. Lamenting the growing trend, they noted that the law is struggling to keep pace with digital assets that exist largely beyond the reach of centralized intermediaries such as banks.

Lawyers from Florida, Texas, New York and California have told CNBC that crypto now plays a role in around 20% to 50% of the divorces they handle since it has become a more popular investment in recent times. years.

“The problem with cryptocurrency is that it’s not regulated by any kind of centralized bank, so usually you can’t subpoena someone and get documents and information related to cryptocurrency holdings. from someone,” divorce attorney Kelly Burris told CNBC. She added that it is easy to hide cryptocurrency assets if one spouse is tech-savvy and the other is not.

According to an NBC News poll, 1 in 5 Americans have invested, traded, or used cryptocurrency, with men between the ages of 18 and 49 accounting for the highest share of all demographic groups.

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