The Singapore High Court has issued a ruling in which, for the first time, cryptocurrencies were recognized as property and an ownership injunction was granted to those suspected of the theft. In an alleged theft of Bitcoin and ethereum with an estimated combined value of $7 million, the court ordered two unnamed cryptocurrency exchanges to store the stolen crypto assets in order to provide the judiciary with material assets that could be traced.
In addition to this, the latest ruling also shows that Singapore’s courts are ready to issue disclosure orders against cryptocurrency exchanges established or operating in the country, enabling victims of crypto asset theft or fraud to access vital information that could benefit them.
Freeze and track stolen crypto assets. In this analysis, lawyers from international law firm Reed Smith LLP pointed out that the court’s ruling marks a positive development for the crypto industry, as it shows that courts in the Southeast Asian country are ready to recognize and protect crypto by granting exclusive injunctions against crypto theft Currency as property, even if the identity of the perpetrator is unknown.