A U.S. district judge considering bitcoins are “intangible properties,” at least for the purposes of a bankruptcy case in California.

The court’s decision was in connection with a case filed by the bankruptcy trustee for bitcoin mining firm HashFast, which declared bankruptcy in 2014, CoinDesk reported.

The trustee wants Mark Lowe, a former promoter for the bitcoin mining firm, to return some 3,000 bitcoins that he claimed were “fraudulently transferred” to Lowe before HashFast’s collapse. The lawsuit, in turn, prompted the bankruptcy court to determine whether the digital currency should be treated as property or as currency.

If the virtual currencies were treated as currencies, Lowe will have to return the bitcoins at the value on the day they were transferred, which amounts to about $360,000. However, if the bitcoins were considered as properties, Lowe will have to shell out $1.3 million—the appreciated value of that 3,000 bitcoins.