Can Cryptocurrencies Be Held On Trust?

They could, according to the U.K. High Court...

In the recent decision of Wang v Darby [2021] EWHC 3054 (Comm), His Honour Judge Stephen Houseman QC (sitting as a Deputy Judge of the U.K. High Court) had the following comments to make at paragraph 89 of his Judgment, in Obiter:

"the transfer of digital assets from one account-holder to another for the purpose of baking or stake bonding could involve or constitute a trust. That would depend on all the circumstances, including whether a loan or sale was the more appropriate characterisation to give effect to the parties' commercial objectives."

This is the first time that an English court has addressed the question of whether a cryptocurrency could be held on trust. The exact question itself was not an issue to be determined in the immediate case, but the court made time to make the helpful observation in Obiter.