Kingdom

United

Bitcoin

The government of the United Kingdom has introduced legislation to assess whether Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies can be classified as "personal property" under domestic law.
In a Sept. 11 notice, the UK government <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-bill-introduced-in-parliament-to-clarify-cryptos-legal-status" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" text="null" title="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-bill-introduced-in-parliament-to-clarify-cryptos-legal-status">announced</a> that the Property Bill would clarify the legal status of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), cryptocurrency and carbon credits. The legislation would create an additional category for property under UK law, identifying digital assets as “things.”
“It is essential that the law keeps pace with evolving technologies and this legislation will mean that the sector can maintain its position as a global leader in cryptoassets and bring clarity to complex property cases,” said Labour MP and Minister of State Heidi Alexander.
According to the government, the proposed law will “give legal protection to owners and companies against fraud and scams while helping judges deal with complex cases where digital holdings are disputed or form part of settlements.” The notice cited the example of crypto being used to divide assets in divorce cases.
<h2 id="how-did-we-get-this-bill">How did we get this bill?</h2>
The law was introduced in response to a report commissioned by the UK Ministry of Justice in 2023. The report <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/cloud-platform-e218f50a4812967ba1215eaecede923f/uploads/sites/30/2023/06/14.294_LC_Digital-assets-summary_v5_WEB.pdf" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" text="null" title="https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/cloud-platform-e218f50a4812967ba1215eaecede923f/uploads/sites/30/2023/06/14.294_LC_Digital-assets-summary_v5_WEB.pdf">concluded</a> that “some digital assets are neither things in possession nor things in action, but that nonetheless the law of England and Wales treats them as capable of being things to which personal property rights can relate.”<iframe width="100%" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iWmJkVGZm6c" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The legislation was one of the first moves by the Labour government to address digital asset and blockchain policies since the party <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/uk-industry-crypto-policy-labour-party-election" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">took control from the Conservatives</a> after a July 4 election. Some experts suggested that, given the timing of Parliamentary recesses and party conference season, the government <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/uk-election-crypto-regulation-delay" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">may not act on crypto legislation</a> for months.
Related: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/uk-economic-secretary-tulip-siddiq-crypto-crackdown" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Will UK Economic Secretary follow through with a ‘crypto crackdown’?</a>
Across the pond in the United States, lawmakers could face a similar shakeup in November depending on the outcome of the 2024 election. Control of the US Presidency, House of Representatives, and the Senate could be in either Democrats’ or Republicans’ control starting in January 2025.
Leadership at the US Securities and Exchange Commission under Chair Gary Gensler is at issue in the US election. Many have criticized the SEC chair for taking a regulation-by-enforcement approach to crypto firms without clarifying which tokens or assets may constitute securities.
Magazine: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/godzilla-vs-kong-can-sec-prevail-against-crypto-legal-firepower/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Godzilla vs. Kong: SEC faces fierce battle against crypto’s legal firepower</a>

UK gov’t introduces bill to clarify crypto’s legal status

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Cointelegraph

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