The High Court of Hong Kong has declared cryptocurrency as property and can be held in trust. This decision, which was made for the first time in the city-state, puts crypto on the same level as other intangible assets such as stocks and bonds. The ruling was given in the liquidation of a case involving Gatecoin, a now-defunct crypto exchange. The London-based law firm Hogan Lovells revealed the judgment and stated that Justice Linda Chan found that crypto inherently has all attributes of property.
“Like other common law jurisdictions, our definition of ‘property’ is an inclusive one and intended to have a wide meaning. The court felt it appropriate to apply and follow the lines of reasoning adopted in other jurisdictions that cryptocurrency was ‘property’ and was capable of forming the subject matter of a trust,” Chan said.
Unlike in the US, where the status of crypto-assets remains ambiguous, MiCA, approved on the 20th of April by the lawmakers of the European Union, introduces regulations to reduce risks for consumers while purchasing crypto assets. Several US-based crypto businesses are also looking for friendlier jurisdictions to move their operations, such as Coinbase which announced its consideration to move, and Gemini which revealed its expansion to India.
Regarding the matter, Tyler Winklevoss tweeted, “While US regulators have been busy infighting and refusing to provide the most basic of clarity for the crypto industry, the European Union just approved the MiCA regulation, which provides a comprehensive regulatory framework for crypto in Europe. It’s sad to see the US being left behind on such an important technology and its promise.”
