Apr 2024

Foreword: Cryptoassets Law Over Borders Comparative Guide

There is no clear winning jurisdiction for the title of “Global Crypto Hub” yet. Depending on need, there are a few specialist legal and compliance hubs for crypto projects. The specific legal frameworks for cryptoassets have been rapidly emerging over recent years. We are seeing new legislation being built upon the familiar foundational principles in law. As an example, the legislator has been expanding the existing capital markets framework to capture crypto in its relevant aspects (e.g. the financial promotions regime). Meanwhile, the regulator has also been relying on the traditional frameworks in securities laws while taking a view on cryptoassets (e.g. the investment contract concept).

In terms of current crypto-friendliness, the global view is that the United States has increasingly been shown to be unaccommodating towards cryptoassets, while the EU has been advancing with a variety of legislation (the MiCAR as an example). The United Kingdom is taking time to observe the market (albeit the English courts are proving agile to respond to business need in this space), whereas the British Overseas Territories like the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands and Gibraltar have, for several years, proven to be helpful in facilitating various crypto projects. In more recent times we have seen the United Arab Emirates coming up with enhanced frameworks in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Being a lawyer in the emerging crypto space is both challenging and rewarding at the same time. New legal frameworks specific to cryptoassets follow technological innovation across a variety of sectors. Lawyers are instrumental in navigating the ever-expanding crypto legal space, as well as drafting new legislation. Crypto-specific legislation and case law brings along more trust in these new technologies and products, and is an important step on the road to maturity. After all, who will invest substantially if they don’t have recourse to law?

Blockchain technology as a ledger that is connected to tokens has many use cases, capturing various sectors horizontally. We are already seeing this technology being used in traditional asset classes, and also in an entirely new context, thereby bringing about new asset classes and other interesting products. 

This Law Over Borders Comparative Guide to Cryptoassets provides a useful overview of the current state of legislation and case law applicable to cryptoassets across relevant jurisdictions. I hope you find it beneficial in getting up to speed with the latest developments and finding answers to any specific questions you may have.

I look into the future with anticipation and curiosity. 

Comparative Guide


Contributing Firm


EXPERT ANALYSIS

Chapters

Australia

Emily Shen
Peter Reeves
Robert O'Grady

Bermuda

Andrew Chissick
Daniel Hayward-Hughes
Natalie Neto
Rachel Nightingale
Sara Hall
Steven White

British Virgin Islands

Andrew Chissick
Daniel Hayward-Hughes
Iain Tucker
Iona Wright
Jan Golaszewski
Sara Hall

Canada

Ana Badour
Barry Sookman
Heather Meredith
Hugo Babos-Marchand
Lori Stein
Shane D'Souza

Cayman Islands

Daniel Hayward-Hughes
Ian Mason
Jan Golaszewski
Jennifer Maughan
Sara Hall
Lucy Frew

Cyprus

Christopher Lytras
Leonidas Grivas

Czechia

Filip Murár
Luděk Chvosta

France

Hubert de Vauplane

India

Rohan Bagai
Shagun Badhwar

Italy

Alessandro M. Lerro

Portugal

Ashick Remetula
Carolina Nagy Correia
David Silva Ramalho
Luís Possolo
Márcia Tomás Pires
Nicole Fortunato
Vera Esteves Cardoso
Nuno Gundar da Cruz

Singapore

Stanley Tan
Yam Wern-Jhien

Taiwan

Eddie Hsiung

United Arab Emirates

Alishia K. Sullivan
Andrea Dougall
Katherine Seager

United Kingdom

Jane Colston
Jessica Lee

United States

Clara Krivoy
Sharix Alicea
Stephen Palley

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