ChainCatcher reported that the UK High Court ruled on September 12 that the stablecoin USDT was recognized as property. This is the first comprehensive ruling on cryptocurrencies under English law. The stolen cryptocurrencies (including USDT) from the victims of this case were transferred through various cryptocurrency exchanges after passing through cryptocurrency mixers.
Deputy Judge Richard Farnhill said that USDT has property rights under English law and can be tracked and treated as trust property. This ruling came after the British government proposed a bill that would explicitly bring NFTs, cryptocurrencies and carbon credits into the scope of property law.
The judge pointed to a 2019 decision by the same court (not handed down at trial) that showed cryptocurrencies were property as “strong evidence.” This also aligns with the position of the Law Commission of England and Wales in its 2023 report on digital assets, which labeled cryptocurrencies as property.
