property

According to Bitsmedia, the State Duma of Russia has passed a law in its third and final reading that clearly outlines the procedures for the confiscation and freezing of cryptocurrencies in criminal cases.The bill confirms the legal status of cryptocurrencies as property and requires detailed documentation of asset types, quantities, and wallet addresses during confiscation. The bill allows confiscated cryptocurrencies to be transferred to a designated state wallet and authorizes government agencies to cooperate with foreign exchanges to implement confiscation measures. The bill still requires approval from the Federation Council and the president's signature, and will take effect 10 days after its official publication.Previously, the Constitutional Court of Russia had allowed citizens to protect their digital currency rights in court, even if not declared to the tax authorities.

The Arizona Senate Finance Committee passed the SB 1044 bill and SCR 1003 joint resolution with a vote of 4 to 3. This series of proposals was introduced by Wendy Rogers and aims to exempt virtual currency from property tax. If the proposal is approved, SCR 1003 will allow voters to decide in November whether to amend the state constitution to formally establish this tax exemption policy.The SB 1044 bill seeks to amend state law to define virtual currency, characterizing it as a digital representation that serves as a medium of exchange, unit of account, and store of value, and is not a dollar or foreign currency. Although Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed several cryptocurrency-related bills in 2025, including SB 1025, which aimed to establish a Bitcoin strategic reserve, and SB 1024, which allowed the use of cryptocurrency for tax payments, the current tax exemption proposal has now been referred to the Senate Rules Committee for further consideration.

The Russian Constitutional Court recently ruled that cryptocurrency assets fall under the category of property protected by property rights, a decision that is expected to have far-reaching implications for future civil disputes and criminal cases involving cryptocurrency assets.Ignat Likhunov, head of the Russian law firm Cartesius, stated that this ruling provides clear legal grounds for law enforcement agencies and courts when dealing with issues related to stolen or disputed digital assets, and establishes an important precedent. The ruling also clarifies that as long as cryptocurrency assets are legally obtained, their property rights should be protected by the judiciary, even if they have not been declared to tax authorities.The case originated from a civil lawsuit filed by Moscow resident Dmitry Timchenko. In 2023, Timchenko lent 1,000 USDT to another party, but the latter failed to return it as agreed. A lower court had previously dismissed his claim on the grounds that "stablecoins are not within the scope of digital financial asset legislation." The Constitutional Court pointed out that failing to declare cryptocurrency assets does not automatically negate property rights, and the relevant declaration obligations only apply to miners.As this ruling comes into effect, Russia is advancing a new round of cryptocurrency regulatory legislation. Analysts believe that this judgment provides clearer judicial protection for cryptocurrency holders before the legislation is completed.

The authoritative journal "Digital Legal Governance," supervised by the Supreme People's Court of China, has recently published its 6th issue of 2025 (the 18th overall). This issue focuses on digital transactions, electronic currency, virtual property, generative artificial intelligence, and data element governance, with several articles directly addressing the institutional foundational issues related to blockchain and crypto assets, signaling a clear acceleration in the improvement of legal governance for digital assets.In the "Overseas Observations" section, the articles systematically review the 2022 amendments to the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) in the United States, focusing on electronic contracting, electronic currency, virtual property based on distributed ledgers, and the new form of property rights known as "controllable electronic records." It argues that the institutional design in aspects of circulation, control, guarantee, and good faith acquisition of virtual currency has significant reference value for China's digital asset and blockchain legislation. Additionally, several articles in this issue discuss topics such as training data for generative artificial intelligence, data portability rights, public data, autonomous driving and intelligent connected vehicles, and digital copyright protection, emphasizing the need to balance technological innovation, market efficiency, and rights protection through institutional reconstruction in the context of rapid technological evolution.Analysis indicates that "Digital Legal Governance," as an important theoretical window within the Supreme Court system, focusing on digital transactions, electronic currency, and virtual property, shows that these topics have moved from the academic frontier into the core vision of judicial and institutional design, providing important policy and theoretical references for the future improvement of rules related to blockchain, digital assets, and Web3.

The WeChat official account of the Supreme People's Court published an article in its managed academic journal "Digital Rule of Law" titled "Commercial Law Reform Facing Digital Transactions, Electronic Currency, and Virtual Property," which points out: The amendments to the Uniform Commercial Code, jointly revised by the American Law Institute and the Uniform Law Commission, were officially passed in 2022 and subsequently widely adopted by state legislatures in the United States. These amendments incorporate a variety of transaction methods, including electronic forms, clarify the relationship between tangible currency, central bank digital currency, and other virtual currencies, create a new type of property called "controllable electronic records," and specify the control and circulation rules for such property.China's civil and commercial regulations should also be oriented towards the development of digital transactions, electronic currency, and virtual property, aiming for practical-oriented legal improvements to stimulate economic and technological development and gain an advantage in international institutional competition.

China Property Investment Holdings Limited (736 HK) announced that the board has resolved to advance the asset allocation plan: subject to compliance with relevant laws and regulations and risk control, it intends to use its own funds to purchase and hold BNB and other suitable digital assets in the open market as the company's strategic reserve assets.

USDC issuer Circle has announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire the Interop Labs team and its proprietary intellectual property. This acquisition is expected to be completed in early 2026. Circle looks forward to contributing to the broader interoperability space and continuing to explore opportunities that align with its vision of an open, interconnected, and scalable on-chain economy.Interop Labs has been a key contributor to Axelar, one of the most advanced frameworks in cross-chain communication and token transfer, and has been driving the core development of Axelar alongside a growing community of open-source contributors. By directly integrating the talent and technology of Interop Labs into Circle, the aim is to accelerate the advancement of two core initiatives: the first is Arc—Circle's blockchain layer designed for enterprise applications, committed to becoming the operating system of the internet economy;The second is the cross-chain transfer protocol. It is important to clarify that this transaction only involves the Interop Labs team and its proprietary intellectual property. As this team joins Circle, the Axelar network, foundation, and AXL token will continue to operate independently under community governance, and the open-source intellectual property will remain open. Another contributor to the Axelar project, Common Prefix, will take over the relevant work of Interop Labs.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong posted on social media, "Cryptocurrency helps create property rights, a sound monetary system, and free trade for everyone. But it is not a panacea; it still requires institutional reforms such as advancing deregulation and eliminating corruption."

According to CriptoNoticias, the real estate market in Venezuela is accelerating the adoption of BTC and stablecoin USDT for property transactions. Fernando Di Jerónimo, president of the Caracas Metropolitan Real Estate Chamber, confirmed that real estate transactions using cryptocurrencies have become frequent in the country, mainly concentrated in high-end areas of the capital such as Chacao, Baruta, El Hatillo, and Las Mercedes commercial district.It is reported that these transactions are conducted through cryptocurrency exchanges for instant payments, covering a range of properties from residential apartments to office buildings, with many transactions completed in installments by overseas buyers. Di Jerónimo stated that although Venezuela has had the "Cryptocurrency Assets Law" since 2020, the relevant regulatory provisions are still not well-developed, lacking the integrity of a legal framework. He also warned that the lack of regulation could lead to some transactions evading taxes.

According to Cointelegraph, the UK has officially passed a bill that recognizes digital assets, including cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, as "property." Advocates say this move will provide stronger legal protections for crypto users.John McFall, the Speaker of the House of Lords, stated on Tuesday that the Property (Digital Assets etc) Bill has received Royal Assent, which is the formal approval from King Charles III, and has officially become law. Freddie New, the policy director of the Bitcoin Policy UK organization, stated on X that the bill "becoming law is a huge step forward for Bitcoin's development in the UK and is a significant positive for everyone holding and using Bitcoin in the UK."In the UK, the common law system, developed through judicial precedents, had previously recognized digital assets as property. However, this bill aims to formally enshrine this principle into legislation and implement the recommendations made by the Law Commission for England and Wales in 2024—specifically, to clearly define crypto assets as a new category of personal property rights to enhance legal clarity.

The Russian Constitutional Court is currently hearing a key case that will determine whether citizens have property rights over stablecoins such as USDT.Several regulatory experts have informed the court that fiat-backed stablecoins like USDT do not fall under the category of "digital financial assets" (DFA) according to Russian law, nor do they apply to domestic digital currency circulation rules. The case originated from Moscow resident Dmitry Timchenko, who lent 1,000 USDT in 2023 but was refused repayment by the other party. His appeals to the district court, the higher court, and the Supreme Court were all rejected, with the courts stating that stablecoins do not belong to the protected category of DFA. Timchenko subsequently appealed to the Constitutional Court, claiming that "no other asset class in Russia faces such restrictions." During the hearing, both the central bank and the anti-money laundering agency Rosfinmonitoring stated that stablecoins possess characteristics of "foreign currency digital assets," making it difficult to classify them as DFA, and proving ownership on public chains is challenging. Some legal experts believe that if stablecoins are not recognized as DFA, it could actually benefit ordinary traders in everyday transactions or in evading sanctions, but the lack of legal protection also increases the risk of asset freezing by the issuer. The final ruling in this case is expected to be announced in a few weeks in a non-public manner and is seen as an important precedent for the judicial recognition of stablecoins in Russia.

According to Cointelegraph, the Madras High Court in India has legally recognized XRP as property and is protected under criminal law.

ChainCatcher news, according to market news, a draft law submitted by the Russian parliament proposes to recognize cryptocurrency as joint property of spouses, which can be divided during a divorce.The proponents of the bill aim to address an increasingly prominent issue, as more and more Russians choose to invest in cryptocurrency, leading to a growing number of related problems. The draft law was introduced by Igor Antropenko, a member of the Industry and Trade Committee representing the ruling party United Russia.

ChainCatcher news, according to the Fujian Procuratorate public account, the 2025 Cross-Strait Procuratorial System Seminar was held yesterday in Putian, Fujian. Participants focused on the challenges and responses of prosecutorial practice in the digital age, discussing three topics: the legal application issues related to new property crimes involving virtual currencies, the collection and admissibility of digital evidence, and the compulsory measures and disposal of seized property.

ChainCatcher news, according to the Straits Times, Do Kwon, co-founder of the now-defunct blockchain company Terraform Labs, demanded about 50% of the purchase price for a top-floor apartment on Orchard Road in Singapore, but was rejected by the Singapore High Court.Five months before the collapse of his cryptocurrencies TerraUSD and Luna in 2022, Do Kwon had set his sights on the Sculptura Ardmore apartment valued at 38.8 million SGD. He selected a 7,600 square foot duplex four-bedroom penthouse located on the 19th floor of the project, one of only three penthouses in the development. Do Kwon paid approximately 19.4 million SGD in option fees and subsequent payments, nearly half of the purchase price. However, he ultimately failed to complete the purchase, and the apartment was eventually resold for 34.5 million SGD. Although it is claimed that the developer has confiscated the payments made by Do Kwon, he argued that the confiscation was invalid and entrusted his wife to file a lawsuit in the Singapore High Court. Do Kwon's application was rejected on July 26.

ChainCatcher news, Christie's International Real Estate has established a new department focused on property transactions conducted with cryptocurrency. This department aims to promote the use of cryptocurrency for purchasing luxury properties and is currently accepting offers for luxury properties valued at $1 billion that only accept pure cryptocurrency bids.The Southern California branch manager Aaron Kirman created this department inspired by recent high-priced cryptocurrency real estate sales. The department is equipped with a professional team consisting of lawyers, analysts, and cryptocurrency experts who can facilitate cryptocurrency payments without the need for intermediary banks. Kirman stated that he has presided over some transactions where the seller was unaware of the buyer's identity, but the seller's broker's lawyer would verify the legitimacy of the buyer's source of funds.After evaluating several high-value transactions using cryptocurrency over the past two years, Christie's decided to establish this department. Recently, at the request of a client, a $65 million real estate transaction in Beverly Hills, USA, has been completed using cryptocurrency.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, as the global real estate tokenization market is expected to reach $4 trillion by 2035, the issue of asset inheritance has become a key bottleneck in the industry's development. The current lack of standardized on-chain inheritance mechanisms may lead to the permanent loss of high-value tokenized assets due to key loss or legal ambiguities.Experts suggest integrating technologies such as smart contracts, NFT fragmentation, and biometrics to build a Decentralized Data Persistence Protocol (DeDasP) to achieve automated asset inheritance. This solution needs to address the security issues of intergenerational wealth transfer while maintaining the principle of decentralization.