In a case involving Seychelles-based exchange Bybit and a contractor, Singapore’s High Court has recognized crypto as a property capable of being held on trust. According to a court judgement published on Tuesday, Bybit brought a case against Ho Kai Xin, claiming that she had abused her position to transfer over 4.2 million USDT (stablecoin issued by Tether) to addresses owned and controlled by her, as well as a quantity of fiat currency to her own bank account.
Judge Philip Jeyaretnam, who presided over the case, stated that “Like any other thing in action, USDT is capable of being held on trust.” He also referred to a public consultation response published by the Monetary Authority of Singapore on 3 July 2020, which “reflect the reality that it is possible in practice to identify and segregate digital assets,” supporting the view that they can be held on trust. Jeyaretnam added that “the holder of a crypto asset has in principle an incorporeal right of property recognisable by the common law as a thing in action and so enforceable in court.” He acknowledged that this conclusion might have an “element of circularity” about it, but noted that “it is not strikingly different from how the law approaches other social constructs, such as money.”
The exchange sought a declaration that Ho was holding both the USDT and fiat currency on trust for Bybit. Ho blamed her cousin Jason Teo for stealing the assets from ByBit without her knowledge, claiming that only he owned and controlled those addresses. The judge accepted on a balance of probabilities that “Jason does not exist (or at any rate did not play the role asserted for him by Ms Ho),” and ordered that Ho transfer assets back to Bybit.