Focus on the ever-expanding world of digital assets
Welcome to Russell-Cooke's digital assets hub, an online resource for our insights and updates on digital assets.
This is a complex area which touches on many aspects of our lives, yet it is poorly understood or defined.
At its widest, "Digital assets" is a term that covers all things digital, including the mundane such as email accounts, social media accounts and online photos.
However it is also a maturing asset category, which includes cryptoassets such as Bitcoin, and NFTs (non-fungible tokens). The dynamic nature of developments in this area is regularly producing new issues of law and legal practice for solicitors and their clients to grapple with.
Whilst many of these can and are being resolved within the existing framework of English law, there is a real possibility that the rapid development and increasing sophistication of digital assets over a relatively short period of time will lead to far more fundamental changes.
Digital assets: what do you need to know?
This series of articles serves as an introductory guide to digital assets, their ownership, and how they are regulated:
- An introduction to digital assets: David Webster in the corporate and commercial team has put together an introductory guide to digital (and in particular crypto) assets.
- Digital assets - what do you actually own?: Mark Fletcher in our dispute resolution team focuses on what ‘ownership’ means in the context of cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
- Transactions in digital assets: corporate and commercial specialist Guy Wilmot explains how cryptoassets may be transferred, sold, or gifted.
- How are digital assets regulated?: Frances Murray, financial crime specialist, explores the regulatory landscape affecting cryptoassets.
- Law Commission: digital assets consultation - overview and status: David Webster discusses the key takeaways from the Law Commission's consultation paper on digital assets.
- Former FTX boss charged with defrauding investors: Frances Murray and Emily Russell discuss recent news of former FTX boss, Sam Bankman-Fried's arrest.
- Decentralised Autonomous Organisations and the Law Commission: David Webster discusses the proper legal treatment of DAOs including the rights and obligations of participants and the rules and regulations to which they are subject.
- The Financial Conduct Authority, regulation and cryptoassets: Frances Murray discusses the FCA's expanding remit and the need for more extensive regulation of firms operating in the cryptoasset sphere.
- Digital assets and incorporating them into your will: Anouksha Patel explains how digital assets, such as a person's online content, accounts or intellectual property can be incorporated into a will.
- Blockchain and securities - the UK Jurisdiction Taskforce of the Lawtech UK Panel's take: Partner David Webster explores the recently issued legal statement on digital securities reflecting on the results of a lengthy consultation process.
This hub will be updated with articles on other topics of interest.
If you would like to find out more from our legal experts about the law relating to digital assets, contact David Webster, Guy Wilmot, Mark Fletcher and Frances Murray.