The United Kingdom Law Commission published a consultation document focused on seeking recognition crypto as propertyshortly thereafter, it emerged that the UK may be moving away from its goal of becoming the next crypto hub.
The document suggested that property rights are vital to social, economic and legal systems. In light of this, the text argued that “property in this sense does not refer to specific things themselves, but to the social consensus among people about how those things should be kept, used, exchanged and protected”, adding that “property is standard law and thus should apply to transactions involving proprietary goods unless the parties preclude its operation”.
Internet of Ownership via Crypto
The UK Law Commission noted that legal ownership is the indispensable process that determines and deploys capital. Henceforth, propertyless humanity cannot convert the fruits of its labor into replaceable, liquid forms that can be differentiated, combined, divided, and invested to produce surplus-value. Therefore, the article emphasized that the advancement of digital asset technology will exponentially expand the scope of this productive process, creating “an internet of ownership.”
The paper stressed that the internet of ownership through crypto may enable more inclusive and equitable access to property rights and the legal recognition and protection they provide. It stated that “digital assets themselves amplify this process by enabling the communication of value through electronic means, broadening the scope of and access to markets and increasing the transferability, composition and liquidity of things of value”.
The paper added that “some digital assets (including crypto tokens and crypto assets) are treated as property by market participants. Property and property rights are vital to modern social, economic and legal systems and must be recognized and protected”, and a reform of the law to provide legal certainty would lay a strong foundation for the development and adoption of digital assets”.