The UK Ministry of Justice today submitted to the British Parliament a regulatory proposal that seeks to recognise cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and tokenised carbon credits, as personal property. This legislation aims to offer legal protection to owners and businesses against fraud and scams related to cryptocurrencies. According to the British government, the proposed law will also make it easier for judges to deal with “complex cases” in which digital possessions are in dispute or are part of agreementsas in cases of divorce. “Our world-leading legal services form a vital part of our economy, helping to drive growth and keep Britain at the heart of the international legal industry,” Justice Minister Heidi Alexander commented. The news also means that the UK’s legal sector will be better equipped to respond to new technologies, attracting more business and investment to the legal services industry, which is already worth £34 billion a year to the economy, the British government notes. The British government defines digital assets as “extremely broad, encompassing a variety of things such as digital files, digital records, email accounts, digital carbon credits, cryptoassets and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).” This initiative comes more than a year after King Charles III gave final sanction to the Financial Services and Markets Bill (FSMB), as reported by BitcoinDynamic, which marked a new step in the regulation of cryptocurrencies in the country. Furthermore, this law seeks to clarify rights over digital assets, providing a solid legal basis for the industry and for users, thus recognizing the unique characteristics of these assets that go beyond traditional means of payment. The Law Commission of England and Wales proposes the creation of a new legal category, “data objects”, to account for these digital possessions, reflecting the government’s intention to adapt the regulatory framework to the digital age.
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