UK Law Commission Publishes Proposals to Reform Laws Relating to Digital Assets — Says Reforms Must Not ‘Stifle Development’

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According to the Law Commission, the United Kingdom statutory body, digital assets play an increasingly important role in modern society and as such, the law relating to these must be reviewed. Reforming the laws will not only protect the rights of users and maximize the potential of digital assets but can potentially position England and Wales “as a global hub for digital assets.”

Several Key Areas Still Need to Be Reformed

A British statutory body, the Law Commission has released a consultation paper wherein it proposes to reform the law relating to digital assets. The commission said the release of the paper follows a request by the government for it “to review the law on digital assets, to ensure that it can accommodate them as they continue to evolve and expand.”

In a recently released statement, the Law Commission acknowledged that digital assets “play an increasingly important role in modern society.” As a consequence, there is a need to craft laws that allow “a more diverse range of people, groups, and companies to interact online and benefit from them.”

While acknowledging that both England and Wales have already taken steps to accommodate emerging technologies like cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFT), the commission claimed there are “several key areas” of the law that still needs to be reformed. Such reforms will “protect the rights of users and maximize the potential of digital assets.”

Commenting on the commission’s proposals, Sarah Green, the Law Commissioner for Commercial and Common Law, said:

Digital assets such as NFTs and other crypto-tokens have evolved and proliferated at great speed, so it’s vital that our laws are adaptable enough to be able to accommodate them. Our proposals aim to create a strong legal framework that offers greater consistency and protection for users and promotes an environment that is able to encourage further technological innovation.

Developing the Right Legal Foundations

Green also emphasized the importance of directing the commission’s efforts towards “developing the right legal foundations to support these emerging technologies.” She suggested the commission should avoid rushing to impose a regulatory regime as this may have an unintended consequence of stifling the further development of these technologies.

By doing this, both England and Wales “could reap the potential rewards and position itself as a global hub for digital assets.” Meanwhile, in the statement, the Law Commission said those that wish to give it feedback must do so by November 4.

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