Evolution of Intangible Property to Crypto-Assets: A Historical and Comparative Perspective of Legal Pragmatism in Anglo-American Common Law and Chinese Civil Law

Abstract

The emergence of crypto-assets, a novel category of assets, has posed significant challenges to property law across various legal systems. The integration of these intangible assets into property law frameworks proves complicated for many civil law jurisdictions, which tend to adhere to dogmatic approaches. In contrast, Anglo-American common law and Chinese civil law systems, despite their divergent origins, have exhibited legally pragmatic responses to intangible property, including crypto-assets. By examining the development of their property laws concerning property conceptualisation and the treatment of emerging intangible assets, this article explores how the historical foundations of Anglo-American common law in feudal tradition and Chinese civil law in communist ideologies have fostered adaptable and flexible notions of property. This adaptability is argued to be a strength within both the Anglo-American common law and Chinese civil law systems, enabling them to accommodate innovative intangible assets more easily compared to their civilian counterparts.

Keywords: Anglo-American, China, Comparative Law, Crypto-Assets, Legal Pragmatism, Property Law