Response to Law Commission of England and Wales Consultation on Digital Assets

We welcome this consultation and appreciate the opportunity to provide our comments. We have a particular interest in this area of law and have been involved in previous consultations regarding related matters. Along with other members of the Centre for Commercial Law, we responded to the UK Government’s Consultation and Call for Evidence on the UK’s Regulatory Approach to Cryptoassets and Stablecoins (March 2021), the Law Commission of
England and Wales (LCEW)’s Call for Evidence on Digital Assets (July 2021), the LCEW’s Consultation on Digital Assets: Electronic Trade Documents (July 2021) and the Scottish Government Consultation on Digital Assets in Scots Private Law (June 2022). Our responses are available at the following link: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/law/research/centre-forcommercial-law/public-policy-stakeholder-engagement-1109.php. In addition, Dr MacPherson and Dr Yüksel Ripley of this working group are two of the Special Rapporteurs for the United Kingdom (UK) and co-authors of the UK Report for the International Academy
of Comparative Law’s General Report on Cryptocurrencies (Asunción 2022 General Congress, Topic IX.C), which gives attention to the law of England and Wales, the law of Scotland and private international law/conflict of laws issues, where appropriate. They are also the coauthors of ‘Digital Assets Law Reform in England and Wales and Prospects for Scotland’, Aberdeen Law School Blog, 2022, available at https://www.abdn.ac.uk/law/blog/digital-assets-law-reform-in-england-and-wales-andprospects-for-scotland/.