Is it illegal for someone to hack my BTC wallet?

[MCVXYZ]

While bitcoin is not legal, its theft will not be considered a crime

Your answer is confusing,Can you opine it normally?Why do you think that its not legal? First of all it depends on your country. Do you know  definition of this word? This is not answer.This action is directed against of others private property,Hacker gets someone's property by illegal,Secretly.In another situation,If bitcoin is prohibited in your country/state,you will not have the basis for the request based on criminal law norms  from Investigative authorities,To get them back.

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[dave111223]

No since there is no law surrounding bitcoin, the same way it's not illegal to create an exchange and steal all the money, they will not be charged

[BitcoinGirl.Club]

I'm not clear on this one point.  If somebody got a hold of my private key and moved funds from an address that I claimed on the ledger, is that against the law?  At what point could that be considered a crime?  For example, if they hacked into my machine and stolen the private key; if they sniped the pk while snooping on a public access connection; brute forced the pk into existence; or just plane snapped a shot of my qr code over my shoulder....ect  In which of those examples could I pursue prosecution for the theft of my coin?  

Probably this act of moving funds from an authorized account to their account would be considered trespass or computer theft regardless whether bitcoin is legal or illegal in your jurisdiction.

Other likely charges https://www.pagepate.com/experience/criminal-defense/federal-crimes/federal-computer-crimes/

[btc-facebook]

No since there is no law surrounding bitcoin, the same way it's not illegal to create an exchange and steal all the money, they will not be charged

My government still forbid bitcoin , it means that bitcoin user have their own risk and responsible with their bitcoin.
I'm already aware that happen so I keep prepare myself for the worst and always becareful every time when I try to do transaction especially on public place. ( bitcoin getting expensive, more criminal attempt will come )

[franco123]

Of course. This is just as the same as stealing because hacking the BTC wallet means that they will transfer your Bitcoins to their accounts. However, this can not really be addressed well as a legal case because hackers are really hard to identify and you have no strong evidence to convict someone with it. Hackers in today's time are now really active especially to hacking Bitcoin and cryptocurrency wallets because it was advertised that Bitcoin is now really high in terms of value. The best way to avoid being hacked is just to not trust anyone our accounts and always change the password with a strong one every now and then.

[TIDOVEE]

I actually think the legality or illegality of some acts depends on being protected by law, of which there is no precise law in my own country binding the use of bitcoin  but the legality of the hackers on your own account is pronounced by you. Now, its actually a wrong act hacking people's account. Its relatively fraud or theft and can simply be categorized as a criminal act, but it also lies in our ability to keep our private keys safe. Because as soon as our private key is accessible. Both the wallet and the coin is no more safe.

[Rludd]

In the countries where it's recognized as money, it would be.

[Aneelal]

In the countries where it's recognized as money, it would be.

I hadn't heard about that happening. Does anyone have a list of which countries BitCoin has been officially declared a currency?

[Giric]

In the countries where it's recognized as money, it would be.

I hadn't heard about that happening. Does anyone have a list of which countries BitCoin has been officially declared a currency?

Germany has declared it a private currency:

And seriously, read the title of the webpage. It's Bitcoin, not BitCoin.

[Stianyd]

In the countries where it's recognized as money, it would be.

I hadn't heard about that happening. Does anyone have a list of which countries BitCoin has been officially declared a currency?

Germany has declared it a private currency:

And seriously, read the title of the webpage. It's Bitcoin, not BitCoin.

It's the "virtual goods" part that makes it curious.
If you use bad crypto and I steal your Bitcoins is that more like me breaking into your house and stealing your cash (illegal) or more like me ganking you in a full-loot MMO and stealing the in-game stuff you bought with real money (legal)? Are Bitcoins more like dollars or EVE money where the law is concerned?

[Renr]

In the countries where it's recognized as money, it would be.

I hadn't heard about that happening. Does anyone have a list of which countries BitCoin has been officially declared a currency?

Germany has declared it a private currency:

And seriously, read the title of the webpage. It's Bitcoin, not BitCoin.

It's the "virtual goods" part that makes it curious.
If you use bad crypto and I steal your Bitcoins is that more like me breaking into your house and stealing your cash (illegal) or more like me ganking you in a full-loot MMO and stealing the in-game stuff you bought with real money (legal)? Are Bitcoins more like dollars or EVE money where the law is concerned?

It's kind of a problematic situation though. How do you prove ownership of an address? Usually you only have your private key (so you could, for example, sign a message with your private key and people could check that you are in possession of said key). But if a crypto cracker gets your key, both of you kind of have 'proof of ownership'.
Unless you can show that, e.g., salary payments from your employer went to that address, proving ownership will be a problem.

[Usine]

In the countries where it's recognized as money, it would be.

I hadn't heard about that happening. Does anyone have a list of which countries BitCoin has been officially declared a currency?

Germany has declared it a private currency:

And seriously, read the title of the webpage. It's Bitcoin, not BitCoin.

It's the "virtual goods" part that makes it curious.
If you use bad crypto and I steal your Bitcoins is that more like me breaking into your house and stealing your cash (illegal) or more like me ganking you in a full-loot MMO and stealing the in-game stuff you bought with real money (legal)? Are Bitcoins more like dollars or EVE money where the law is concerned?

It's kind of a problematic situation though. How do you prove ownership of an address? Usually you only have your private key (so you could, for example, sign a message with your private key and people could check that you are in possession of said key). But if a crypto cracker gets your key, both of you kind of have 'proof of ownership'.
Unless you can show that, e.g., salary payments from your employer went to that address, proving ownership will be a problem.

Just like cash
Edit: Why the downvotes...?

[Kesecer]

In the countries where it's recognized as money, it would be.

I hadn't heard about that happening. Does anyone have a list of which countries BitCoin has been officially declared a currency?

Germany has declared it a private currency:

And seriously, read the title of the webpage. It's Bitcoin, not BitCoin.

It's the "virtual goods" part that makes it curious.
If you use bad crypto and I steal your Bitcoins is that more like me breaking into your house and stealing your cash (illegal) or more like me ganking you in a full-loot MMO and stealing the in-game stuff you bought with real money (legal)? Are Bitcoins more like dollars or EVE money where the law is concerned?

It's kind of a problematic situation though. How do you prove ownership of an address? Usually you only have your private key (so you could, for example, sign a message with your private key and people could check that you are in possession of said key). But if a crypto cracker gets your key, both of you kind of have 'proof of ownership'.
Unless you can show that, e.g., salary payments from your employer went to that address, proving ownership will be a problem.

Just like cash
Edit: Why the downvotes...?

Well, but to steal cash you generally have to commit some other sort of crime, like burglary or robbery, that generates a risk of being caught.
If you look at section 4.4 of this paper the authors effectively prove that someone has stolen 59 Bitcoins from 158 different addresses when people (or software) mistakenly reused nonces. Those people lost their coins anonymously with no recourse.
It's not clear if that's a crime, hence the topic.

[goldade]

Hacking by definition is wrong and what makes it illegal is that fact it goes against the laid down rules.
Looking at this issue critically, we realize that calling hacking illegal doesn't make hackers to stop hacking even though it is illegal.  So the best thing to do is to keep our account secured.
I'd advise you make use of blockchain wallet if you haven't been using it. It is most secured wallet you can ever find.

[superjeyy]

All of those scenarios look like theft. Problem is the authorities ain't gonna care enough to do anything about it. Those guys are geared to nail single moms taking nappies from the store, not remote crimes of stuff they don't understand.

Good point. What the hacker did is actually wrong and is considered a crime under theft. However the problem is that not many countries (especially those who belong the third world countries) do not recognize digital theft. I guess when you're in country who does take this situation seriously, then you are lucky. It's unfortunate how if this happens and you can't do anything about it since the authority does not understand what this platform is and sometimes the government does not recognize it. Hopefully, the time would come that a certain protection or measure is established for everyone's wallet security and safety.

[Tungsten-1]

No since there is no law surrounding bitcoin, the same way it's not illegal to create an exchange and steal all the money, they will not be charged

My government still forbid bitcoin , it means that bitcoin user have their own risk and responsible with their bitcoin.
I'm already aware that happen so I keep prepare myself for the worst and always becareful every time when I try to do transaction especially on public place. ( bitcoin getting expensive, more criminal attempt will come )

to me i think it’s not about charging the criminal or hacker it’s about whether it’s legal or not to hack one’s wallet. Hacking is illegal not only here but also in other fields. To avoid such things one should try to use safe accounts and keep his wallet offline, do not share your data with anyone and keep your wallet worth a secret, you will then not face any situation.

[Omeng]

So,

1) If they hacked into my machine and stole the private key; (illegal)
2) If they sniped the pk while snooping on a public access connection; (illegal)
3) If they brute forced the private key into existence; (not illegal)
4) If they snapped a shot of my private key qr code over my shoulder at an ATM. (not illegal)

What if I claimed an address on the block chain with a signature and 3 or 4 happened?  Would I have a case then?

If 3) happens then all Bitcoins become worthless and the question would become:  If I take something which is worth nothing is it illegal?

Well I guess you could argue that even though all Bitcoins are now worthless they still might have sentimental value.

I think bitcoin would still have value because the bad actor would not expose themselves....right? Would he have an incentive to keep the method a secret?

See, that's what's got me re-thinking some of these points....How would we prove that 3 or 4 happened, unless the bad actor exposed the method?  And, what new legislation might be proposed to protect public ledger breeches?  It's kind of scary thinking about the public space being legislated (which could be proposed due to bitcoin's market capital reaching such high numbers)....Sometimes legislation that's passed through has unintended consequences when it comes to personal liberties....

[1NV3ST0NM3]

I'm not clear on this one point.  If somebody got a hold of my private key and moved funds from an address that I claimed on the ledger, is that against the law?  At what point could that be considered a crime?  For example, if they hacked into my machine and stolen the private key; if they sniped the pk while snooping on a public access connection; brute forced the pk into existence; or just plane snapped a shot of my qr code over my shoulder....ect  In which of those examples could I pursue prosecution for the theft of my coin? 

Yes ofcourse its illegal and any person whom you don't allow access to your money takes access in any unethical manner would be illegal. But problem is which country's law is going to give you shelter in such a crime. I dont know any country which pertains any law regarding bitcoin theft. Moreover private key doesn't has any owners name affixed with it. So it will be a heck of problem for you to claim that these btc were actually yours.

[Mantisa83]

Many people use crypto currency conveniently. Therefore, it causes such a resonance.

[cotton ball]

I'm not clear on this one point.  If somebody got a hold of my private key and moved funds from an address that I claimed on the ledger, is that against the law?  At what point could that be considered a crime?  For example, if they hacked into my machine and stolen the private key; if they sniped the pk while snooping on a public access connection; brute forced the pk into existence; or just plane snapped a shot of my qr code over my shoulder....ect  In which of those examples could I pursue prosecution for the theft of my coin? 

Yes ofcourse its illegal and any person whom you don't allow access to your money takes access in any unethical manner would be illegal. But problem is which country's law is going to give you shelter in such a crime. I dont know any country which pertains any law regarding bitcoin theft. Moreover private key doesn't has any owners name affixed with it. So it will be a heck of problem for you to claim that these btc were actually yours.

the state will not be willing to assist you because no rules apply, all ownership is your responsibility, very ironic, but if individual theft cases apply, there will be no valid evidence in the process of case recapitulation that requires at least two evidences. unless you follow a HYIP crypto that is currently running in your country and result in a loss, then the owner can be processed with a fraud case.