In Bybit’s lawsuit against its contractors, the Singapore High Court recognized that crypto assets are property that can be held in trust.
Bybit accused its employee Kaixin He of breach of contract, with the company claiming she transferred more than $4.2 million to addresses she secretly owned. Additionally, she allegedly transferred fiat currencies into her personal bank account.
Philip Jeyaretnam, the judge presiding over the case in Singapore, said USDT can be held in trust like any other property.
The judge cited a public consultation response from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), which affirmed the possibility of identifying and segregating digital assets, including by holding them in a trust.
Jeyaretnam further emphasized that crypto asset holders have intangible property rights that are recognized by common law as litigious property and enforceable in court.
The judge added that crypto asset holders have in principle intangible property rights. He added that cryptocurrencies are not significantly different from the way the law treats other social structures, such as money.
“It is only because people generally accept shells and beads as having exchange value, unlike printed paper money, that they become money. While some are skeptical about the value of crypto assets, it is worth remembering that value is not inherent in objects.”
--Judge Philip Jayaratnam
The judge also ordered Ho Kai-xin to transfer the assets back to Bybit.
The Singapore High Court ruling established that crypto assets can be considered property, opening up new legal avenues for disputes and cases involving cryptocurrencies.
