A low-key momentous thing happened recently in the world of NFTs. The High Court of the UK declared them as property in relation to a recent case of a couple being stolen. Now, anyone who already owns an NFT knows they own it, but this could affect the legal world in significant ways.
According to The Art Newspaper, OpenSea was instructed to freeze the two pilfered NFTs and report the accounts holding them. And instructed to do so regardless of the physical location of the account.
This has wide-reaching implications. If this is the precedent and NFTs can have the same legal protection—and aggressive defense—as other forms of property, it begs legal and philosophical questions. What other laws will this spin-off? What other digital objects might become defensible property in the coming years?
The UK might be the first to do this, and China is bumping up against similar legal questions, but this is only the beginning. As NFTs interface with more businesses worldwide, it’ll necessitate regulations and laws. The crypto space has long been the Wild West, but that might mutate soon.
