Cryptocurrency is a property capable of being enjoyed and possessed (in a beneficial form), the Madras High Court said on Saturday, adding it can be ‘held in trust.’

Hearing the Zanmai Labs Pvt Ltd (WazirX Indian branch) vs a crypto investor whose 3,532.30 XRP currency holdings were frozen after a July 2024 cyberattack, Justice N Anand Venkatesh acknowledged that even if crypto was an intangible and not a legal tender, it still possessed the fundamental features of property, Bar and Bench reported.

The court stated that cryptocurrencies “have the essential characteristics of property” even if they are intangible and not legally recognised money.

“There is no doubt that 'cryptocurrency' is a property. It is not a tangible property, nor is it a currency. However, it is a property that can

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