The Singapore High Court has authorized a freeze order attached to wallets associated with a recent hack with Soulbound NFTs. This unprecedented decision comes following the efforts of the UK-based financial investigation firm, Intelligent Sanctuary (iSanctuary).
Tracking Stolen Funds and Tokenized Warning System
iSanctuary, engaged by a businessperson who suffered a $3 million loss in crypto assets, successfully traced the stolen funds. The evidence was presented both on-chain and off-chain. It further convinced the Singapore High Court to issue a worldwide freeze order—a historic first for the court.
The court-issued freeze order took the form of soulbound NFTs, marking the cold wallets without hindering transactions. While transactions are still possible, the NFTs will serve as a warning to counterparties and exchanges about the involvement of these wallets in a hack.
Additionally, iSanctuary claims to have developed a method for tracking funds leaving the affected wallets. This will as a result, enhance their ability to monitor the situation.
Mintology’s Role, Multi-National Implications and iSanctuary’s Perspective
Mintable, a Singaporean NFT studio, was identified as the producer of the NFTs, according to iSanctuary. This information was indirectly confirmed by Mintable founder Zach Burks in a recent communication.
The case, reportedly linked to a stolen private key, involves Singapore-based crypto exchanges and spans multiple countries, including Spain, Ireland, Britain, and other European nations. The Straits Times reported on October 17 that the funds laundered by fraudsters, purportedly from Singapore, involved a complex network of exchanges.
iSanctuary founder Jonathan Benton further emphasized the significance of this development. He stated,
“This is a game-changer; it can happen in hours if needed. We can serve on wallets and start to police the blockchain, identify those holding illicit assets, serve civil or criminal orders, even red flags.”
Global Impact of NFTs in Legal Proceedings
Notably, NFTs have been utilized in legal contexts previously, with instances of delivering court summonses reported in Italy and the United States. This marks a growing trend in leveraging blockchain technology for legal and financial applications.
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