---
title: "Crypto laws needed to secure UK’s position as global leader"
description: "The UK must develop laws that govern crypto assets to ensure the country becomes a global hub for cryptocurrencies and non fungible tokens, the Law Commission recommended."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Business Maverick"
author: "Bloomberg"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/bloomberg/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-06-28-crypto-laws-needed-to-secure-uks-position-as-global-leader/"
published: "2023-06-28T05:32:05"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 228
---

# Crypto laws needed to secure UK’s position as global leader

> The UK must develop laws that govern crypto assets to ensure the country becomes a global hub for cryptocurrencies and non fungible tokens, the Law Commission recommended.

By Bloomberg · Published 28 June 2023, 07:32 SAST

## Key points
- The UK Treasury is pushing for legislation to give digital assets a legal foundation and become a global crypto hub, with the formation of an expert panel to advise on technical and legal frameworks.
- UK Treasury announces ambition to become global crypto hub
- Report urges government to clarify when digital assets can be considered money
- Panel calls for legislation to create distinct third category of personal property
- Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government should form expert panel of industry experts

## Content

The long-awaited recommendations “aim to provide a comprehensive legal foundation for digital assets, which will allow these new technologies to flourish, enabling a diverse range of market participants to interact with and benefit from them”, the independent panel said in a statement on Wednesday. The report will now go to the UK government, which will decide whether to adopt the recommendations.

The UK Treasury announced its ambition to become a global crypto hub in April last year, launching a spate of legislative proposals to regulate crypto asset businesses and attract investment to the country. Updates to the English and Welsh legal system could make it the default choice for the crypto sector if sufficiently prioritised, figures like Judge Geoffrey Vos have suggested, adding to the UK’s appeal.

The report also urged the government to clarify if and when digital assets can be considered as money under existing rules for use as collateral. The market participants must be given the legal tools to provide “new ways to take security over crypto-tokens and tokenised securities”, the commission said.

The panel also called for legislation to confirm the existence of a distinct third category of personal property to better accommodate digital assets.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government should form an expert new panel of industry experts to advise on a technical and legal framework for the digital assets, it said.**DM**