DIGITAL ASSETS IN INSOLVENCY: LEGAL CLASSIFICATION, VALUATION, AND THE IMPERATIVE FOR HARMONISED REFORM — A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF INDIA AND SINGAPORE

AUTHOR – DISHA CHATTERJEE, STUDENT OF CHRIST (DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY)

BEST CITATION – DISHA CHATTERJEE, DIGITAL ASSETS IN INSOLVENCY: LEGAL CLASSIFICATION, VALUATION, AND THE IMPERATIVE FOR HARMONISED REFORM — A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF INDIA AND SINGAPORE, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (7) OF 2026, PG. 490-499, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344. DOI – https://doi.org/10.65393/IJLRV6I754

ABSTRACT

The burgeoning proliferation of digital assets (cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens, stablecoins and other forms of financial instruments, which exist on a blockchain) has revealed deep flaws in established insolvency frameworks around the world. This article considers the three inseparable legal issues of the legal characterization of digital assets as ‘property’, ‘valuation’ of volatile digital assets during insolvency and ‘recovery’ of such assets in an era of borderless technology. It uses the jurisdictions of Singapore and India as models in an effort to show that Singapore’s forward-looking legislative framework-supported by the Payment Services Act 2019, the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 and a robust case law framework-offers a robust and informative blueprint for states seeking to revise their insolvency frameworks. Despite being home to more than 115 million digital asset users and a large domestic market, India lacks legislative provisions to deal with digital asset insolvency. Finally, this article offers specific suggestions for the amendment of India’s Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016, trans-border insolvency regimes and the regulatory framework applied to digital asset service providers.