Cryptocurrency has moved from fringe to mainstream in Brevard County divorces. Bitcoin and Ethereum holdings, exchange accounts, hardware wallets, staking rewards, and NFTs now appear on financial affidavits — or, more troublingly, fail to appear. Digital assets are volatile, easy to move, and easier to hide than any asset divorce courts have dealt with before. But they are not invisible, and Florida law treats them like any other property: if acquired during the marriage, they are on the table. The Law Office of John Vernon Moore, P.A. brings over 89 years of combined experience to protecting clients on both sides of the crypto question — holders who need a fair division and spouses who suspect assets are missing.
Cryptocurrency Is Marital Property Like Anything Else
Under § 61.075, crypto purchased, mined, staked, or earned during the marriage is a marital asset subject to equitable distribution, regardless of which spouse controls the keys. Coins acquired before the marriage start as nonmarital, but the familiar complications apply: marital funds used to buy more, trading activity during the marriage, and commingling across wallets can convert or blend holdings — the same principles covered on our marital vs. nonmarital property page, applied to a technology that generates thousands of transactions. Every spouse must disclose digital assets in the financial affidavit and mandatory disclosure. Omitting a wallet is concealment, and Florida judges can sanction it severely — including awarding the hidden asset disproportionately to the innocent spouse.
Finding Crypto: The Trail Is More Visible Than People Think
The irony of blockchain assets is that the ledger is public forever — the challenge is connecting wallets to your spouse. In practice, discovery starts with the ordinary records:
- Bank and card statements showing transfers to Coinbase, Kraken, Gemini, Binance.US, Cash App, PayPal, or Robinhood
- Tax returns — the digital-asset question answered on page one of Form 1040, plus Form 8949 gains and 1099s from exchanges
- Email and app evidence — exchange confirmations, two-factor prompts, wallet apps on phones
- Subpoenas to U.S. exchanges, which maintain full KYC records and transaction histories
- Blockchain forensics — once one wallet address is known, tracing firms can follow funds across chains, mixers notwithstanding
Self-custody complicates collection, not classification: a hardware wallet in a drawer is still a marital asset. Courts can order disclosure of holdings and compel cooperation, and a spouse who claims coins were lost — the perennial forgotten password story — faces credibility findings with real consequences. Our hidden assets and forensic accounting pages cover the broader toolkit.
Valuing an Asset That Moves 10% in a Day
Volatility makes the valuation date a genuine strategic decision. Florida allows different assets to be valued as of different dates as equity requires, and crypto is the poster child: a holding valued at filing can double or halve by trial. Options for handling it include valuing at final judgment (fairest for volatile assets), dividing the coins in kind so both spouses ride the market equally, or converting to dollars at an agreed date. In-kind division — transferring half the BTC to the other spouse’s wallet — is often cleanest, because it removes valuation fights entirely and each side then controls their own risk. Settlement agreements should specify exact coin quantities, not dollar figures, when in-kind division is intended.
Dividing and Transferring Crypto Safely
Mechanics matter more with crypto than any other asset. A transfer between spouses incident to divorce is generally non-taxable under I.R.C. § 1041, but the recipient takes the original cost basis — so a coin bought at $5,000 and worth $60,000 carries a large embedded tax bill the settlement should account for. Practical protections we build into agreements: transfers verified on-chain before dependent obligations are released, staking and reward income addressed through the transfer date, exchange account statements exchanged through closing, and security procedures (test transactions, address verification) so six figures do not vanish to a mistyped address. For spouses receiving coins who have never held crypto, we coordinate custodial setup so the asset is actually secure once received.
Crypto Income and Support
Digital assets touch support too. Staking rewards, mining income, and trading gains are income for child support and alimony purposes, and a spouse paid partly in crypto cannot shrink their income by pointing at the coin’s paper volatility. Courts average, annualize, and impute where the record supports it.
My spouse never told me about their crypto. What can I do?
Raise it now — concealment discovered during the case leads to sanctions, and assets discovered even after the divorce can be pursued. Bank transfers to exchanges, tax forms, and subpoenas reconstruct most holdings, and blockchain tracing does the rest.
Is cryptocurrency treated differently from other assets in Florida?
Legally, no — it is property subject to equitable distribution like a brokerage account. Practically, its volatility, self-custody, and traceability quirks demand different valuation, discovery, and transfer techniques than conventional assets.
Should we divide the coins or their cash value?
Dividing coins in kind avoids valuation-date fights and shares market risk equally, but requires the receiving spouse to manage custody. A cash buyout is simpler but locks in a price on a volatile asset. The right answer depends on the size of the holding and each spouse’s risk tolerance.
What if my spouse says the wallet password is lost?
Courts judge that claim on credibility and evidence — timing of the alleged loss, prior access, transaction history. A judge who disbelieves the story can value the coins anyway and award offsetting assets to you, putting the loss on the spouse who told it.
Talk to a Divorce Attorney Who Understands Digital Assets
Whether you hold the keys or suspect your spouse does, crypto issues reward early, informed action. The Law Office of John Vernon Moore, P.A. serves clients throughout Melbourne, Viera, Palm Bay, and Titusville in divorces involving digital assets of every size. Call (321) 529-7777 or schedule a consultation today.