Crypto Approved As Personal Property By Singapore High Court

The Judge did not differentiate between cryptocurrencies, fiat money, or shells as long as all of those objects, whether physical or not, shared a value formed by shared trust in them.

According to a judgment made on July 25 by Judge Philip Jeyaretnam of the High Court of Singapore, cryptocurrency is considered property that can be held in trust. The Judge stated that as long as all of those objects, whether actual or not, share value established by a shared faith in it, he did not see any difference between cryptocurrencies, fiat currency, or shells. 

In a case by ByBit against its former employee, Ho Kai Xin, Judge Jeyaretnam affected his decision. ByBit said the employee transferred almost 4.2 million USDT from the cryptocurrency exchange to her personal accounts. He has been claiming that a distant cousin is in charge of the relevant reports, and the court has now ordered him to refund all of the money to ByBit.

Even if the choice may seem straightforward, it contains vital formulations required for digital assets’ legal standing. The stolen USDT and all cryptocurrencies are considered property by Judge Jeyaretnam. Despite their lack of bodily existence, the Judge believes that:

“We identify what is going on as a particular digital token, somewhat like how we give a name to a river even though the water contained within its banks is constantly changing.”

His reminder that value is “a judgement made by an aggregate of human minds” dispels the widespread belief that cryptocurrency has no “real” value. Jeyaretnam organizes cryptocurrencies as “things in action.” According to British common law, this refers to a particular class of property, the personal rights that may be asserted or enforced through legal action rather than taking actual possession. 

The Judge in Singapore used the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s regulations to support his decision. He stated that holding digital assets in trust should be legally possible as long as they can be identified and separated. 

In Singapore’s Rules of Court 2021, “movable property” is defined as cash, debts, money deposits, bonds, shares, securities, membership in clubs or societies, and cryptocurrencies or other digital currencies. The court ruling includes this definition.

The High Court of Justice in London determined in May 2022 ruled that nonfungible tokens (NFTs) are treated as “private property.” This decision is a positive development for NFT investors, as it establishes a strong precedent and indicates that British courts will safeguard their property rights.