The High Court of Hong Kong recognized that cryptocurrencies by their nature have all the attributes of property and, accordingly, they can be held in trust.
A legal precedent emerged in Hong Kong that allows cryptocurrencies to be deemed property. This perception of digital assets was officially recorded during a court review of details of the liquidation of the cryptocurrency exchange Gatecoin. This was reported by the law firm Hogan Lovells.
Judge Linda Chan stated that cryptocurrency has characteristic attributes of property and therefore falls under this definition. In this matter, court representatives also took into account similar opinions issued by courts in other jurisdictions. In particular, the High Court of the United Kingdom issued a similar ruling in 2020.
According to lawyers from Hogan Lovells, the decision brings more clarity to the processes for regulating digital assets in Hong Kong. This will create favorable conditions for the further establishment of the local jurisdiction as a major regional crypto hub, which is promoted by the authorities of Mainland China.
It’s worth noting that in China late last year, a court ruled that NFTs are virtual property, thereby outlining the legal framework for regulating the local NFT market. A similar decision was indirectly marked by the Federal Court of the Southern District of New York in the United States when it accepted the class action lawsuit against Dapper Labs.
