SINGAPORE (Reuters) – For the first time, a Singaporean citizen has obtained a court order to halt any anticipated transaction and transfer of responsibility for a non-fungible token (NFT) he just claimed.
The injunction, issued by the Singapore High Court last Friday (May 13), is also said to be the first in Asia – as well as globally for an entirely complete debate – to protect an NFT.
NFTs are tokens that reside on blockchains, which are decentralised electronic records. They may be used to address basic resources that can be advanced or physical, such as fine arts, records, and music.
According to court records made available to The Straits Times, the High Court’s decision protects a specific Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT that a Singaporean is attempting to reclaim from a web-based entity identified as “Chefpierre.”
BAYC is a limited edition collection of NFTs, each having distinct characteristics like as appearance, clothing, and frill.
They are seen as sought superficial points of interest, some of which are allegedly owned by celebrities such as American commentator Jimmy Fallon and Canadian singer Justin Bieber.
Madonna allegedly purchased one of the NFTs last month for 180 Ether, a digital currency worth $560,000 (S$777,000) at the time.
The man’s identity has been disguised in court records, but a search of the Singapore Court’s website by ST reveals his name to be Janesh Rajkumar. In both the court records and the website, the persona of “Chefpierre” is described as obscure.
Mr Janesh is attempting to reclaim the NFT known as BAYC #2162, which he used as collateral for a credit from ‘Chefpierre.’ He claims, among other things, that he legally owns the NFT and that “chefpierre” wrongfully took it away from him.
Mr. Janesh said in his claim that he just purchased the NFT with the intention of preserving the token for himself.
He also said that its characteristics, such as its potential to manufacture another NFT of another selected series, make it a particularly rare item even among BAYC NFTs.
Mr. Janesh commonly used BAYC #2162 as insurance to purchase digital currencies on a local stage called NFTfi because of its unique circumstance and high monetary worth.
However, he was particularly careful to specify in loan agreements with moneylenders that he was hesitant to relinquish responsibility for NFT and return the advance in full.
If Mr. Janesh is unable to repay the credit on time, he will notify the bank, which should provide reasonable extensions of time for repayment.
He also said in the advance agreements that the moneylender should never use the “abandonment” option that was available if repayment was not paid in order to bear responsibility for #2162.
