Singapore High Court rules crypto personal property, compares it to fiat money
Join us on social networks Cryptocurrency is property capable of being held in trust, Judge Philip Jeyaretnam of the High Court of Singapore ruled on July 25. The judge said he didnt see any difference between crypto, fiat money or shells as long as all those objects, physical or not, share value created by mutual faith in them. Jeyaretnam handed down his ruling in a case brought by Bybit against its former employee, Ho Kai Xin. Bybit claimed the staff member transferred around 4.2 million of Tether (USDT) from the crypto exchange to her private accounts. The court has now ordered Ho, who has accused a non-present cousin of controlling the relevant accounts, to return the money to Bybit. While the decision may seem obvious, it contains some formulations important for the juridical status of digital assets. Jeyaretnam calls the stolen USDT, as well as cryptocurrencies in general, property. Even though they dont have any physical presence, the judge said: “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.” He rebukes the common suspicion of crypto not having any “real” value, reminding