Texas Homeowners Lose $80 Million Bitcoin Theft Insurance Row

Homeowners who allegedly stole about $80 million worth of Bitcoin through a cyberattack lost their bid for an insurer to pay their legal bills.

The insurance policies from Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. only cover negligent accidents, not willful wrongdoing, the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas said Tuesday.

“The intentional theft of Bitcoin constitutes neither negligent nor accidental conduct. It thus falls outside the scope of personal-liability coverage in both policies,” the court said.

Hiu Lam Cookie Choi and Brandon Ng held homeowners insurance and personal liability policies with Nationwide. The insurer sued its policyholders to avoid ...