Singapore High Court declares cryptocurrency as property, rules in favor of ByBit in trust case

A Singaporean High Court has ruled that cryptocurrency is a property capable of being held in trust, according to a July 25 ruling.

ByBit vs. Miss Ho

The court reached this decision in a case involving Seychelles-based crypto exchange ByBit which alleged that a contractor Miss Ho Kai Xin, breached the terms of her employment contract.

The exchange accused Ho of abusing her position with the company by illegally transferring more than 4.2 million in USDT to crypto addresses secretly controlled by her and also sending fiat currency to her bank account.

ByBit had filed a court against Ho, asking for relief that she held the funds in trust for the exchange. The crypto firm also sought a summary order to reclaim the funds or get payment in equivalent.

Court says crypto can be held in trust.

In his judgment, Judge Philip Jeyaretnam ruled that crypto assets, including Tether’s USDT, are property capable of being held in trust. Judge Jeyaretnam stated that the assets are “choses in action and, similar to other things in action, can be held in trust.”

To reach the decision, Judge Jeyaretnam depended on the public consultation response by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The Judge pointed out that the amendments proposed in the consultation paper show that “it is possible in practice to identify and segregate such digital assets, and hence support the view that it should be legally possible to hold them on trust.”

He added that Order 22 of the Rules of Court 2021 has already recognized cryptocurrency as a property. Examples of movable properties under the Order include “cryptocurrency or other digital currency.”

The court ruled in favor of ByBit, granting the reliefs sought and ordered that Miss Ho returns the assets to ByBit.

“My conclusion is therefore that the holder of a crypto asset has in principle an incorporeal right of property recognisable by the common law as a thing in action and so enforceable in court.”

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