cryptoassets are property and smart contracts can be valid contracts in english law November 18, 2019
Posted by Bradley in : law , add a commentThe UK Jurisdiction Taskforce has published a Legal Statement on the Status of Cryptoassets and Smart Contracts which concludes that in English law cryptoassets are property, and that smart contracts can be valid contracts. Introducing the document, Sir Geoffrey Vos said that the Statement should dissipate legal uncertainty and that he hoped that it would “be hugely influential on legal thinking across the common law world”. In contrast to the approach of other jurisdictions, the Taskforce approached the issues from the perspective of figuring out what the law is rather than on what it ought to be. Courts and regulators in the UK would be in a better position to make decisions about regulation or remedies after the publication of the Statement. The Statement notes that the “great advantage of the English common law system is its inherent flexibility” which can adjust to technological change.