UK judge says crypto assets are property

On Monday, a UK  Jurisdiction Taskforce of the Lawtech Deliver Panel published  a 46-page legal statement  which said:

Cryptoassets, including but not restricted to, virtual currencies, can be treated in principle as property [“¦] smart contracts are capable of satisfying the requirements of contracts in  English  law and are thus enforceable by the  courts. Statutory requirements for a  signature  can be met by techniques such as private key encryption

The statement and document was made after a consultation period was devised to get some clarity on the digital asset and blockchain industries.

Sir Geoffrey Vos, chancellor of the  High Court, also commented saying the initiative was “a watershed for English law and the  UK’s  jurisdictions. No other  jurisdiction  has attempted anything like it.”

He went on to say:

Other  jurisdictions  have addressed the problem differently, starting with regulations and remedies, and worked backwards [“¦] There is no point in introducing  regulations  until you understand the legal  status  of the asset class you are seeking to regulate