Digital assets such as Bitcojn and other cryptocurrencies could become objects of property under Scots private law according to new legislation put forward by ministers.
Ministers say the proposed Digital Assets (Scotland) Bill is to give ‘greater legal clarity’ under new laws that will help support Scotland’s growing financial technology sector.
‘Currently, businesses, investors, and individuals dealing with digital assets may choose to invest in other jurisdictions offering greater legal certainty,’ the Scottish Government said today in a press release.
It said the new legislation creates ‘robust legal foundations around digital asset ownership and acquisition helping Scotland to remain an attractive destination for financial technology companies and providing greater confidence for individuals’.
Scotland has around 260 FinTech companies employing more than 11,300 people and the sector is worth £14 billion to the Scottish economy.
Business Minister Richard Lochhead said: “This legislation provides the legal clarity that businesses and investors need to thrive in Scotland’s digital economy.
“By clarifying how digital assets are treated under Scots property law, we are building strong foundations for innovation and ensuring that Scots law can accommodate these innovations.
“Scotland’s world-class legal system and vibrant financial sector are experiencing huge growth. We want to be a FinTech global powerhouse and legislation such as this will help meet that commitment.”
A background paper on the Scottish Parliament website states that ‘….a broad usage of the term digital assets can capture any assets in an electronic or digital form. An email account, for example, can be regarded as a digital asset in a broad sense. However, not all types of digital assets pose difficulties for the law, because the existing law already provides relevant solutions for some of them. Currently, what is challenging for the law is to accommodate the novel types of digital assets which have emerged with the use of DLT [decentralised ledger technologies], most notably cryptoassets.’