The United Kingdom Jurisdiction Taskforce of the Lawtech Delivery Panel (LTDP), has now published a binding statement confirming the legal classifications of digital currencies, as well as distributed ledger technology (DLT), and also smart contracts within it. According to the statement which is applicable under both English and Welsh law, cryptocurrencies qualify as “tradable property.”
UK Jurisdiction Taskforce chairman Sir Geoffrey Vos who is also the UK’s high court chancellor has explained that the statement tries to clarify some of these supposedly obscure legal terms and tries to explain them as much as possible, without diluting its essence.
The taskforce is one of the panels under the LTDP which was specifically created to aid with the growth and all-round transformation of the UK’s legal space, especially as it relates to technology.
The statement also describes smart contracts as a very secure and efficient way to implement and enforce a contract between two or more sides. It further says:
“This could revolutionize agreements, from mortgages and medical research to property ownership, as smart contracts automatically execute transactions and remove the need for a middle man.”
Vos also endorses cryptocurrencies, smart contracts, and blockchain technology by extension, suggesting that the statement should freely be used for clarity in the industry, whenever there’s a need for such.
“In legal terms, cryptoassets and smart contracts undoubtedly represent the future. I hope that the Legal Statement will go a long way towards providing much needed market confidence, legal certainty and predictability in areas that are of great importance to the technological and legal communities and to the global financial services industry.”
The new development is also interesting because just weeks ago, the UK’s tax and customs authority officially declared that cryptocurrency should not be regarded as money.
Image Credits: Pixabay
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