- The UK Law Commission is consulting on legislation to bridge the gap in the country's laws.
- The bill will clarify how digital assets can be treated as property under the law.
- Otherwise, the committee believes the country's legal system is flexible enough to accommodate cryptocurrencies, giving the UK an advantage.
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British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government is working to strengthen cryptocurrencies.
The English Law Commission, an independent body that reviews legislation, recently consulted on the Bill.
The Bill proposes to update the laws of England and Wales to accept digital assets as property.
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Why is that important?
Imagine you own Bitcoin and you send Bitcoin to a friend. It seems like a simple deal. You owned that Bitcoin and now your friend owns it.
However, under UK law, ownership of that Bitcoin may actually be uncertain.
While there are clear precedents for ownership of things like cars, money in bank accounts, and company stock, this is not the case with cryptocurrencies.
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The Law Commission has been considering for some time whether common law, a law based on precedent rather than statute, is flexible enough to recognize digital assets as property.
The Committee determined that, on the whole, this was the case.
Therefore, lawmakers do not need to enact new laws to accommodate cryptocurrencies.
This gives the UK a real advantage over other countries with less flexible civil law systems that have had to write new laws regarding digital assets.
“We are now in a situation where all EU member states that have not yet made changes must consider whether and how to change their fundamental property laws,” said Bittrex Global CEO , Oliver Lynch told me.
“All that remains for the UK is a relatively simple regulatory aspect.”
When Sunak was Chancellor of the Exchequer, he vowed to turn the UK into a crypto hub.
However, one gap in the common law still remains, the commission found.
Property in the UK includes rights to tangible assets such as cars and cash, or intangibles such as shares in a company. However, digital assets do not neatly fall into either category.
The Judiciary Committee has therefore proposed legislation to fill that gap.
The deadline for public comment on the bill is March 22, after which it will be sent to Congress for passage.
This means legal clarity for the UK and means further acceleration of Sunak's crypto dreams.
Please send me the email joanna@dlnews.comor telegram @joannallama.
