Hong Kong ‘successfully executes’ court order on cryptocurrency wallets using tokenisation technology

A Hong Kong court order related to a fraud claim has been “successfully executed” after being sent to two cryptocurrency wallets using tokenisation technology, a novel approach that experts have said they believe will set a precedent for other jurisdictions and boost the city’s appeal as a tech hub.

A Hong Kong court order has been successfully served on two cryptocurrency wallets using tokenisation technology, in a first-of-its-kind move that legal experts say could set a precedent for other jurisdictions and boost the city’s appeal as a tech hub.

The injunction order, which prohibits the worldwide and Hong Kong disposal of assets, was served to the unknown holders of two wallet addresses on the Tron blockchain after a local company fell victim to a false representation scam and lost more than US$2.6 million.

The plaintiff in the civil claim is Worldwide A-Plus, a marketing consultancy that had US$2.66 million of Tether – a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar – transferred to two wallets controlled by the scammers, who posed as salespeople from a hacked online marketing platform.

The order, which listed the unknown holders of the two wallets as the case’s defendants, was granted by High Court Deputy Judge Douglas Lam on December 5 and was later served by law firm Ravenscroft & Schmierer in the form of a “tokenised legal notice”.

Public records retrieved on blockchain scanner platform Tronscan on January 17 showed that both wallets contain a token named “2-Jan25-Notice”, which was transferred on January 3 and carried a message stating that the initial court order remained in effect.

“Please refer to the hyperlink in our previous legal notice dated Dec 9 2024 for a copy of the relevant court order and the plaintiff’s statement of costs, which has now been served on you, by way of Tokenised Legal Notice,” the message read.