英格兰和威尔士法律委员会今天(2023年6月28日)发布的一份新报告建议进行各种法律改革，以更好地整合和处理数字资产(如加密货币), tokens and NFTs to name a few), to promote certainty, and boost the UK’s position as a global leader for the crypto industry.
Following a consultation which closed on 4 November 2022, the final Report on Digital Assets considers the current position at law for digital assets, given the fast paced and usually non-uniform rights certain digital assets carry. The report has made a number of recommendations for reform:
- The creation of new category of personal property (i.e. not a thing is possession like a car nor in action like a contractual right), to be introduced via legislation. Importantly the definition is to be determined by common law, 被认为是最好和最灵活的方法，可以根据具体情况确定哪些可能属于这一类, and is defined negatively, i.e. "一件物品作为个人财产权利客体的法律地位不会仅仅因为它既不是行为物也不是占有物就被剥夺". Similarly, 该权利存在的标志(与咨询中提出的标准相反)包括该财产(i)通常存在的地方, but not always, 是否由数据组成(ii)独立于人和法律制度而存在(iii)是竞争性的.
- The formation of a panel of technical experts, legal practitioners, judges, academics and industry experts, to provide the judiciary and Courts with a broad, non-binding guide to complex definitions and concepts, 为理解和应用有关数字资产的法律建立统一的基础.
- The creation of a clear legal framework that deals with the lifecycle of collateral arrangements for digital assets.
- Clarification as to whether certain digital assets fall under the remit of the Financial Collateral Arrangements (No 2) Regulations 2003.
评论法律委员会通过普通法处理数字资产财产事宜的决定, Matt Green, blockchain litigation expert and Co-head of the Blockchain & Digital Assets Group at Shoosmiths, and who led on the seminal case of AA v Persons Unknown referred to below said:
“法律委员会已经确认，普通法作为一种工具，必须继续在法律上确定数字资产的相互作用. With the case of AA v Persons Unknown & Ors, Re Bitcoin [2019] EWHC 3556 (Comm) (13 December 2019) 确认比特币等加密资产为财产(见判决书第61段), and as recently confirmed at the Court of Appeal level in Tulip Trading Limited (A Seychelles Company) v Bitcoin Association For BSV & Ors [2023] EWCA Civ 83 (03 February 2023) at paragraph 24), common law has directly influenced how digital assets are treated at law, 法律委员会似乎对这一主题的法理学轨迹感到满意.
“委员会的做法为法院在确定什么可能属于第三类提供了灵活性，它提供了一般性指导，说明可能存在个人财产权的情况, from digital assets, to quotas or carbon emission allowances. We note that so long as Recommendation 2 is clear, uniform and regularly revised, then common law is a favourable, 灵活和未来的证明方法，以确定什么可能或可能不是财产.”
赞扬为立法者提供更多全球最大的博彩平台定义和概念的指导的决定, Matt added: “This is a much-needed initiative. A clear, 为协助法院而定期修订的文件将证明对协助司法和整个行业极为有用, 特别是要确保各方熟悉复杂的概念，并确保这些概念得到统一的提出和应用.”
“尽管法官们试图在快节奏的环境中始终如一地适用法律, 在某些情况下，可以影响法官判决的关键概念被提出(或至少似乎被理解为)与事实不同. For example, 法官指出，比特币本质上是不可追溯的(事实恰恰相反)，或者某些加密货币交易所是银行, likely because these are concepts familiar to the judiciary.”
“In our view, 该小组必须有明确的任务，并提供无偏见/自私自利的信息，以维护行业的完整性，并确保与数字资产有关的事项得到妥善处理.”
Observing the financial implications of the proposed reforms, Sam Tyfield, RegTech expert and fellow Co-head of the Blockchain & Digital Assets Group at Shoosmiths, 评论道:“全球最大的博彩平台数字资产抵押安排的法律框架的建议将对金融市场产生深远的影响. Currently, firms like The Netherlands’ Deribit 是否能够在监管许可之外运营，因为在其平台上交易的期权不是以法定货币结算的. This would reshape the entire regulatory landscape.”
“Further recommendations will have similarly far-reaching impacts, 因为市场将需要考虑如何将基础资产的“数字表示”与基础资产本身“联系”起来. Work is being undertaken in this area already (e.g. the Flint Review).”
“In my view, 从技术角度来看，仍有工作要做，以确保围绕脱链转移得出的结论是有效的. For example, 数字资产的转移目前需要链上转移，这可能会有账本管理员(或矿工)回到六个或八个区块(或更多)来逆转交易的风险. In order to provide legal certainty of transfer, one needs a “guarantor” of the transaction to sit in the middle of it.”
“With regards to ‘good faith purchasers’, 我认为这是一个很好的想法，因为有更多的解释全球最大的博彩平台一个善意的买家会收到什么，或者他们如何能够捍卫购买及其价值.”
“全球最大的博彩平台在客户资产/资金与所有权转让方面建立积极步骤的贸易融资规则的想法非常受欢迎. The missing piece, however, 这种“信任”是如何实现的?如果无法区分谁的代币是谁的所有权，又有什么好处呢.”
“During a recent working group, a participant said, “we can either have perfect in 5 years or we can have good enough now”. 鉴于围绕改革必要性的讨论，现在是时候决定英国想要什么了. For example, there are multiple workstreams, 目前全球最大的博彩平台数字资产的咨询和建议:弗林特审查(全球最大的博彩平台代币化证券的好处)和拟议的英格兰银行数字FMI沙盒, for example. Another is the HMRC work on tax treatment of repo transactions of digital assets. 英国税务海关总署(HMRC)正在寻求将代币视为保留在贷款人手中的税收目的. Under the Law Commissions’ proposals, where, during the course of the repo transaction, the lender would be treated as the owner by HMRC but no longer the owner under law, this may create unintended anomalies.”
For more information, read the full report here.
