While the status of cryptocurrencies continues to be debated, an important decision has come from the Madras High Court of India. An Indian court has ruled that cryptocurrencies qualify as property under the law, providing a clear legal definition for digital assets in the country for the first time, according to Decrypt. Court Rules on XRP and Cryptocurrency! India's Madras High Court ruled on Friday that cryptocurrencies constitute protected property under constitutional law, and that while cryptocurrencies are not tangible or intangible currency, they can be owned as utility-generating property. With this decision, the court blocked WazirX, the country's largest cryptocurrency exchange, from redistributing user assets as part of its restructuring plan. Accordingly, the court banned WazirX from redistributing 3,532 XRP tokens from one of its users in order to compensate for the damage caused by the $234 million hack it suffered in July last year. Judge N. Anand Venkatesh said that XRP tokens purchased by the user in January, which were not affected by the incident, cannot be reduced under the exchange's loss offsetting plan. Justice Anand Venkatesh's decision gives cryptocurrencies legal status as property subject to ownership and protection under Indian law. The ruling also states that assets held by exchanges should be considered customer property held in trust. It also confirms that assets held by exchanges belong to customers, not the platform. According to the court decision, cryptocurrencies were determined as property that can be kept safe, owned and utilized. *This is not investment advice.