Dividing Cryptocurrency and Digital Assets in Divorce in Florida

Divorce is hard enough when you’re dividing a home, cars, and bank accounts, but what if some of your assets exist only in the digital world? Maybe your spouse invested in Bitcoin, built a cryptocurrency portfolio, or purchased unique NFTs.

These assets can be valuable and complicated.

If you’re getting divorced and either you or your spouse owns digital assets, you need to know how Florida courts handle these new types of property. At Nest Law, we’re here to help you through this tricky process.

What Are Digital Assets in Divorce?

Think about what you own together with your spouse. Houses, cars, and bank accounts come to mind first. But digital assets are a whole new type of property that can cause headaches during a Florida divorce.

Digital assets often include:

• Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana, and others
• Non-fungible tokens (NFTs): Digital art, collectibles, and virtual land
• Stablecoins: Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), and similar digital money tied to the dollar
• Security tokens: Digital shares in real-world investments
• Online businesses: Web stores, websites, and digital products
• Digital accounts: Money-making social media accounts, gaming items, and paid subscriptions

Under Florida Statute §61.075, courts treat these digital assets just like regular property when splitting things up—but they’re much trickier to deal with.

What is Equitable Distribution?

Florida is an equitable distribution state. This means the court splits marital assets fairly, though not always 50/50.

For digital assets you bought during marriage, they’re usually considered marital property that needs to be divided. But several things make this extra hard:

• Hard to find: Unlike houses or cars, crypto can be stored in many digital wallets or platforms, making it easier to hide.
• Value changes fast: Digital assets can swing wildly in price. A Bitcoin worth $60,000 when you file for divorce might be worth much more (or less) by the time your divorce is final.
• Too technical: Many judges and lawyers are still learning about crypto, which can lead to different results in different cases.
• Proving ownership: It can be tough to show who really controls certain digital assets, especially if one spouse handles all the tech stuff.

Under Florida Statute §61.075, judges start with the idea that everything should be split equally, but they can change this based on your situation.

Three Big Problems With Crypto in Divorce

Splitting up Bitcoin and other digital assets creates unique problems during divorce. Here are the main issues couples face:

1. Finding All the Crypto

Crypto lives online in digital wallets with no paper statements. This makes it easy to hide and hard to find during a divorce. Florida law requires both spouses to share all financial info, but crypto often stays hidden.

As many Florida judges and experts have recognized, the private nature of cryptocurrency makes it difficult to trace.

2. Pricing the Digital Assets

Crypto prices swing wildly – Bitcoin might jump or drop 20% in a day. This creates major headaches:

• If Bitcoin is $50,000 at filing but $75,000 at your final hearing, which price counts?
• Should you split price increases that happen during your divorce?

Florida law gives judges flexibility to handle this issue. Under Florida Statute § 61.075(7), a court may choose “a date or dates it determines to be just and equitable” when valuing marital assets. This allows the judge to select a valuation date that fairly accounts for major price swings in assets like cryptocurrency.

3. Dividing Digital Assets

Once found and valued, splitting crypto isn’t simple:

• Direct transfer: Requires tech skills and cooperation
• Selling: Triggers taxes and might be bad timing
• Trading off: One keeps crypto, one gets other assets of equal value
• Date of Valuation: the judge will decide what is equitable under the circumstances

Florida courts have long applied equitable-distribution principles to complex or nontraditional assets.

For instance, in Boyett v. Boyett, 703 So. 2d 451 (Fla. 1997), the Florida Supreme Court confirmed that even deferred or hard-to-value assets—such as pension rights—can be equitably distributed through valuation methods that account for fairness and uncertainty.

The same reasoning applies to cryptocurrency and other digital property, whose fluctuating or difficult-to-trace value requires the same careful, evidence-based approach.

5 Ways to Protect Your Digital Assets During Divorce

If you’re worried about protecting your digital assets during a Florida divorce, try these five helpful tips:

1. Keep Good Records

Save all info about your digital asset deals, including:

• When and how you got them
• Where the money came from to buy them
• Receipts and wallet addresses
• Tax forms showing crypto trades

These records help show whether assets belong to just you or to both of you. As seen in many Florida cases, good records can make all the difference in who keeps what.

2. Get Help From People Who Know Crypto

Hire a divorce lawyer who knows about digital assets, and think about bringing in other helpers:

• Accountants who know how to trace crypto
• People who can analyze blockchain records
• Experts who can tell what digital assets are worth

These folks can help make sure all assets are found, priced right, and split fairly.

3. Look Into a Postnuptial Agreement

If you’ve bought important digital assets during your marriage but haven’t filed for divorce yet, a postnuptial agreement might help clear up how these assets would be handled if you do divorce.

Under Florida Statute §61.079, these agreements work when done right and can deal specifically with digital assets.

4. Be Honest About What You Own

Trying to hide digital assets isn’t just wrong—it can get you in big trouble. Florida courts don’t like it when spouses hide assets, and judges can punish you by:

• Giving a bigger share of marital assets to your spouse
• Making you pay your spouse’s lawyer fees
• Finding you in contempt of court

5. Know About Taxes

The IRS treats cryptocurrency as property, not money. This means that moving or selling crypto as part of a divorce deal could trigger taxes.

However, transfers of cryptocurrency that are incident to divorce—made under a valid divorce decree or within one year after the divorce—are generally not taxable events under Internal Revenue Code § 1041. Only later sales or exchanges of that crypto can create capital-gains tax.

Work with a tax pro who knows about both divorce and cryptocurrency to pay as little tax as possible when dividing assets.

FAQs

Is cryptocurrency considered marital property in Florida?

If you bought crypto during your marriage with money you earned or from joint accounts, it’s usually seen as marital property that needs to be split. But if you bought crypto before you got married or with separate money (like an inheritance), it might be considered yours alone.

Can my spouse hide cryptocurrency during our divorce?

While it’s technically possible to hide cryptocurrency, doing so breaks Florida’s rules about sharing financial info. Courts can seriously punish people for hiding assets, and experts can often trace transactions on the blockchain to find hidden crypto.

How are NFTs valued during divorce?

NFTs (like digital art) are hard to price because their value can change a lot. Florida courts usually rely on experts who look at things like who created it, what similar NFTs have sold for, and current market activity. Some courts have ordered NFTs to be sold and the money split to avoid fights about what they’re worth.

Does Florida count crypto gains as income for alimony?

Yes, Florida courts can count money made from crypto trading as income when figuring out alimony. However, because crypto gains can be so unpredictable, courts might handle them differently than regular income.

What if I don’t know if my spouse owns cryptocurrency?

If you think your spouse might own digital assets but aren’t sure, your lawyer can use legal tools like sworn testimony, written questions, and requests for documents to find this info. In complicated cases, you might need help from an accountant who knows about digital assets.

Call Nest Law to Protect Your Bitcoin & Digital Assets in Divorce

Dealing with a divorce that involves cryptocurrency and digital assets can be really confusing. At Nest Law, our family law attorneys know both the legal and tech sides of these modern assets and can help make sure they’re properly found, valued, and fairly divided.

Contact Nest Law today for a consultation about your specific situation. Let us help you deal with the complex aspects of digital asset division in your Florida divorce.

This blog post is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. For guidance regarding your specific situation, please consult with a qualified Florida family law attorney.