UK Lords Echo Support for Digital Assets Property Bill

Members of the U.K.’s upper house of Parliament put forward support for the country’s digital assets property bill at its second reading on Wednesday.

The Lords Grand committee largely believed that the bill would add more clarity in terms of how crypto is treated by the legal system and could mark another step of progress for the country, which has been paving the way for crypto use in the country.

The U.K. introduced the bill in September. It was drafted by the Law Commission, an independent statutory body. The bill adds a new category of “thing” to the categories that fall under property to help aid crypto legal disputes.

“It supports our efforts to ensure that our jurisdiction remains at the forefront globally, providing a flexible legal framework that can react to the dynamic nature of digital assets and other emerging technologies,” Lord Frederick Ponsonby of Shulbrede said during the debate.

Not only will the bill assist judges in criminal proceedings where their crypto has been stolen due to a fraud or hack but the bill will also help in the division of matrimonial property, Ponsonby said.

“The bill is short in nature, but could be extraordinarily significant in impact,” Lord Chris Holmes of Richmond said.

John Thomas also known as Baron Thomas of Cwmgiedd agreed that the Law Commission’s bill was a “critical change” and called for it to be internationally competitive, something Ponsonby argued was the case.

The U.K. put forward legislation to treat crypto as a regulated activity last year and was consulting on more rules. Its plans for the sector like creating a new authorization regime for crypto companies were left in limbo once Labour got into government and took over from the crypto friendly Conservatives.

Lord Ed Vaizey also urged the new government to evaluate the effectiveness of the promotions rules and clarify what its approach to crypto would be.

Ponsonby then said in response to Vaizey’s concerns the Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority are working on appropriate financial regulation of crypto assets.

Economic Secretary Tulip Siddiq said in October the government has been reviewing the previous government’s plans for crypto and “will set out details of its policy programme for crypto assets soon.”

Read more: England’s Law Commission Seeks Views on Draft Legislation to Label Crypto as Property