UK High Court Declares Tether as Property in Ruling After New Regulations
Ruholamin Haqshanas is a contributing crypto writer for CryptoNews. He is a crypto and finance journalist with over four years of experience. Ruholamin has been featured in several high-profile crypto...
The United Kingdom High Court has ruled that the stablecoin Tether (USDT) is legally recognized as property under English law.
The ruling marks the first full trial judgment in the UK on the legal status of cryptocurrency and comes shortly after the government introduced new legislation aimed at clarifying the legal status of cryptocurrencies.
The case involved a fraud victim whose stolen cryptocurrencies, including Tether, were transferred through various crypto exchanges after being laundered through crypto mixers.
The court’s decision to classify Tether as property was part of a preliminary issue in the lawsuit brought by the victim.
In the ruling delivered on September 12, Deputy Judge Richard Farnhill of the High Court of Justice stated that “USDT attracts property rights under English law.”
He further elaborated that Tether is “a distinct form of property not premised on an underlying legal right” and is subject to tracing and trust claims, similar to other types of property.
The judge also referred to a 2019 judgment from the same court, which supported the classification of cryptocurrencies as property, though that case did not go to trial.
The ruling aligns with the 2023 report by the England and Wales Law Commission, which also classified digital assets as property.
The case was brought by fraud victim Fabrizio D’Aloia, who sought to recover stolen assets, including 400,000 USDT that had been traced to the Thai crypto exchange BitKub.
However, D’Aloia was unable to convince the court that BitKub had been “enriched” by
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