UK – Page 2 – FinTech and Blockchain Law Watch

Cryptoassets: Taxation of Individuals in the UK

Jan 09 2019

On 19 December 2018, the UK tax authority, HM Revenue and Customs (“HMRC”), published a policy paper on the taxation of cryptoassets. The guidance is limited to HMRC’s view in relation to individuals holding cryptoassets and does not extend to tokens or assets held by businesses. The guidance confirms that HMRC does not consider cryptoassets to be currency or money for tax purposes and separates crypto assets into three categories of “tokens”: exchange tokens, utility tokens and security tokens. The guidance focuses on the taxation of “exchange tokens,” a term encompassing assets such as Bitcoin.

UK’s Green FinTech Challenge

Nov 08 2018

By Jonathan Lawrence

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has launched its Green FinTech Challenge. This is aimed at firms developing green financial technology solutions that need specific regulatory support to bring their proposition to market. The Challenge is designed to support innovation and growth in the Green Finance sector as part of the UK government’s Green GB Week which started on 15 October 2018.

Firms that require specific regulatory support are invited to apply. The Challenge will provide support to a selection of firms developing innovative products and services to assist in the UK’s transition to a greener economy. It is open to start-ups, incumbents and technology providers.

Regulating the UK “Wild West” of Crypto-Assets

Sep 24 2018

By Jonathan Lawrence

On 19 September, the UK House of Commons Treasury Committee published a highly critical report of the state of UK crypto-asset regulation. Crypto-assets themselves (i.e. those designed primarily as a means of payment / exchange) are not within the scope of UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulation. This is because crypto-assets generally will not meet the criteria to be considered a specified investment under the Regulated Activities Order (RAO), nor would they typically qualify as ‘funds’ or ‘e-money’ in the Payments Services Directive and the E-Money Regulation 2009.

UK Law Commission: Smart Contract Research

Jul 24 2018

By Jonathan Lawrence

Published on 19 July, the UK Law Commission’s 2017-2018 Annual Report includes a section dedicated to a research project into smart contracts. The Commission is a statutory independent body. Its aims include the conduct of research and consultations in order to make systematic recommendations for consideration by the UK Parliament. The Commission defines “smart contracts” as the technology which runs on blockchain and by which legal contracts may be executed automatically, at least in part. The body says there is a compelling case for a Law Commission scoping study to review the current English legal framework as it applies to smart contracts. The project’s purpose would be to ensure that English law is sufficiently certain and flexible to apply in a global, digital context and to highlight any topics which lack clarity or certainty. The body has started its initial research and its main work will begin in summer 2018.

UK Cryptoassets Taskforce meets for first time

Jun 12 2018

By Jonathan Lawrence

The first meeting of the UK’s new Cryptoassets Taskforce took place on 21 May 2018. First announced in April 2018 by the Chancellor of the Exchequer as part of the UK government’s Fintech Sector Strategy, the Taskforce is a central part of the government and financial regulators’ efforts to understand and engage with the implications of new technologies in financial services. At the first meeting, the Taskforce agreed its objectives, which include:

exploring the impact of cryptoassets;
the potential benefits and challenges of the application of distributed ledger technology in financial services; and
assessing what, if any, regulation is required in response.

Bank of England Blockchain Settlement Project

Apr 17 2018

By Jonathan Lawrence

The Bank of England, the UK’s central bank, is undertaking a Proof of Concept (PoC) to understand how a renewed Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) service could be capable of supporting settlement in systems operating on innovative payment technologies, such as those built on Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). It is hoped that the service will deliver a stronger, more resilient, flexible and innovative sterling settlement system for the United Kingdom to respond to the changing payments landscape. The RTGS blueprint, published in May 2017, stated that the renewed service will offer a diverse and flexible range of settlement models, to enable existing and emerging payment infrastructures to access central bank money.

Senior English Judge Comments on FinTech

Apr 11 2018

By Jonathan Lawrence

In a recent speech, one of England’s most senior judges explored, in the context of the digital revolution, the culture of and relationship between the UK financial services sector, the UK legal profession, and the judiciary in a changing technological environment. Sir Geoffrey Vos, Chancellor of the High Court, gave the Banking Standards Board Lecture on 20 March.

Increasing FinTech regulatory ties between Australia and the UK

Mar 27 2018

By Jim Bulling and Michelle Chasser

Australia and the UK have strengthened their joint support of the FinTech industry by entering into two new arrangements which build on the original FinTech cooperation agreement entered into by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in March 2016.

The Australian and UK Governments have entered into the UK-Australia FinTech Bridge which establishes a framework for individual arrangements involving governments, regulators, trade and investment, and business. A number of understandings were agreed to including:

investigating options for developing complementarity between the UK and Australian open banking regimes;
continuing to develop a set of international standards for blockchain applications; and
exploring opportunities to enable quicker processing of licences for firms already licensed in the other jurisdiction.

UK FCA Lead on Global Sandbox

Mar 20 2018

By Jonathan Lawrence

In a speech to Innovate Finance 2018 on 19 March, Christopher Woolard, Executive Director of Strategy and Competition at the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) talked about the demand from FinTech firms to operate internationally and the FCA working with partners from around the world to consider options for a global sandbox. He said that the potential of such a project is huge – from solving global problems like money laundering to reducing the regulatory burden of compliance. Currently there is no joint sandbox programme with other regulators for firms to participate in. Such a project represents new territory.

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