The British government is ready to protect cryptocurrency
Most countries are faced with the issue of cryptocurrency control. The United Kingdom seems to have found the solution.
After the statements of the former head of the UK Treasury, Rishi Sunak, more and more government agencies began to focus on cryptocurrency. Some have started to make serious moves. The Law Commission of England (at the government’s request) has developed and published a consultation paper, which describes the legislative steps to protect the rights of digital asset holders.
The main problem is that there are only two categories of personal property in the legislation of England. The first is things in possession. The second is things in action. Digital assets don’t fall into any of these categories. The government will have to develop a third category, which will include tokens and NFTs. Also, databases, software, domain names, and digital records are proposed to fall into this category.
The document deals with several concepts of ownership of such assets. One is to change the very concept of “possession” to “control”. Roughly speaking, digital assets are not physical objects. They cannot be owned but can be temporarily controlled. In addition, the proposals for transferring and storing such assets are under consideration.
Given the current legislation, the government will have to make many changes to existing laws and, in some cases, develop new ones.
It may be only a consultation paper. But it is already a big step, which will serve as an example for most countries. If these changes come into effect, they could make Britain a global center of digital assets.
Responses and comments to this document will be accepted until November 4, 2022.
