In a significant ruling, the Madras High Court held that cryptocurrency constitutes “property” capable of being owned and held in trust. In Rhutikumari v. Zanmai Labs Pvt. Ltd., the applicant had invested in XRP on WazirX, whose unrelated ERC-20 wallet was later hacked. Despite her assets being unaffected, withdrawals were frozen. The Court ruled that a Section 9 petition is maintainable in India even for foreign-seated arbitrations when assets and transactions connect to India. Analysing the nature of crypto, the Court held it to be intangible property and a “virtual digital asset” under Section 2(47A) of the Income Tax Act. Because XRP was stored separately from the breached wallet, the issue of loss allocation must be decided in arbitration. Granting interim protection, the Court directed WazirX to furnish a bank guarantee or escrow deposit equivalent to the applicant’s holdings. The decision strengthens investor protection and clarifies crypto’s legal status in India.