The lower level of Singapore’s Supreme Court, the High Court, has issued a judgment recognizing crypto as “property” for the first time and granting proprietary injunctions against anyone accused of stealing it.
An anonymous Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange was ordered by the court to supply the judiciary with documents that might help hunt down the stolen crypto assets in a case involving alleged theft of BTC and ETH worth an estimated USD 7 million.
What exactly was the acquisition?
The victim authorized one of his associates’ access to his safe back in January 2021. His digital wallets’ recovery seed was found in the safe. The following day, the victim discovered that his wallets had been emptied of crypto assets worth $7 million.
The plaintiff allegedly had stolen Bitcoin and Ethereum in two digital wallets with password protection, according to Lexology. The crypto exchanges have been required by the court to produce the documents needed to trace assets. In addition to that, the court issued a global freeze order against the unidentified defendants.
Exactly what does this mean?
Being ready to recognize and protect bitcoins as property in a Southeast Asian nation is a positive move for the crypto community. Even if the perpetrator’s name is unknown, the courts are willing to award proprietary injunctions against digital asset theft.
On the other hand, the decision gives victims of crypto theft access to crucial information they need to freeze and track their stolen funds.
Predictions on court orders
According to the research, cryptocurrency exchanges in Singapore may be served with disclosure requests from the courts. If a court demands the disclosure of user account information or the freezing of cryptocurrencies owned by a user, they must comply.
According to lawyers, court rulings will essentially overrule any contractual obligations between a crypto exchange and its customers. The customer’s capacity to trade in crypto and the exchange’s responsibility for secrecy in connection to acquired user information might be examples of this kind of agreement.
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