The High Court of England and Wales has ruled that stablecoin USDT is recognized as property, allowing it to attract legal rights and be subject to tracing in cases of fraud.
Bollywoodfever: In a significant legal ruling, the High Court of England and Wales has recognized stablecoin tether (USDT) as property under English law.Â
This decision clarifies that cryptocurrencies, although not physical assets, can be treated similarly to both tangible and intangible property in legal disputes.
The ruling, issued by the High Court of Justice, Business and Property Courts of England and Wales on September 12, addressed the question of whether digital assets like USDT can be considered property.
The case involved Fabrizio D’Aloia, who claimed to have been defrauded of over £2.5 million ($3.3 million) in cryptocurrency, including USDT, which was then laundered through multiple blockchain wallets.
The court’s decision confirmed that cryptocurrencies like USDT, despite not relying on traditional legal rights or physical possession, are regarded as property for legal purposes.
This means that digital assets can be traced, transferred, and held in trust, much like other forms of property. In the ruling, the judge stated:
USDT attracts property rights under English law. It is neither a chose in action nor a chose in possession but a distinct form of property not premised on an underlying legal right.”
This legal recognition of cryptocurrencies as property allows them to be subject to the principle of tracing, which is commonly applied in cases involving theft or misappropriation of assets.
While this ruling sets a precedent for the legal treatment of cryptocurrencies in England, the court noted that in D’Aloia’s case, he did not present sufficient evidence to trace his stolen cryptocurrency to specific accounts held by crypto exchange Bitkub, one of the defendants.
This judgment has significant implications for future cryptocurrency-related disputes, particularly in cases of fraud and asset recovery. However, it also underscores the necessity of providing adequate proof when attempting to trace stolen digital assets through blockchain transactions.
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