Abstract:
This article presents a normative and doctrinal case for recognising cryptocurrencies as property. It proposes a test grounded in the normative ends of property, use and exchange, and argues that cryptocurrencies which fulfil this test deserve legal protection. From a utilitarian perspective, this recognition enhances social utility by encouraging legitimate use and exchange. From a justice theory standpoint, law should protect entitlements acquired through just means. The article further argues that, doctrinally, cryptocurrencies are best classified as things in action rather than a new tertium quid. These arguments support the property status of qualifying cryptocurrencies in contemporary law.