The aim of the consultation is to resolve questions relating to international jurisdiction, applicable law, and the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments, arising from use of electronic trade documents, digital assets and distributed ledger technologies. The consultation paper includes provisional proposals for reform of certain aspects of private international law that apply in this context.

Key points include:

• Jurisdiction: The consultation considers how the existing jurisdictional gateways for property (gateway 9(a)) and tort (gateways 11 and 15(b)) can be applied in the context of crypto litigation. It also notes that the existing gateway for free-standing Norwich Pharmacal and Bankers Trust orders (gateway 25) has not been widely used because claimants are often unable to satisfy the requirement that the information is sought for proceedings commenced or intended to be commenced in England and Wales as they do not know the identity or whereabouts of the perpetrators. There is therefore a proposal to create a new discretionary power of the courts to grant free-standing information orders against third parties in circumstances where it is not yet clear whether substantive proceedings will be initiated in England and Wales.
• Applicable law: The consultation proposes a new "supranational" approach to deal with the "omniterritorial nature" of disputes in relation to digital assets and electronic trade documents. This new approach would no longer require the courts to identify a single applicable law, but to take into account a range of factors to determine a just outcome of the dispute, including the legitimate expectations of the parties.
• Bills of Exchange Act 1882: The consultation also makes proposals for reform of section 72 of the Bills of Exchange Act 1882, which would apply to relevant documents in both paper and electronic form.

Deadline for comments is 8 September 2025.

The Law Commission plans to publish final recommendations in 2026.

These guidelines are issued under Article 16(1) of the ESMA Regulation and Article 2(5) of MiCA. The purpose of these guidelines is to "specify conditions and criteria for determining whether a cryptoasset should qualify as a financial instrument and therefore ensuring the common, uniform and consistent application of the provisions in Article 2(4)(a) of MiCA. Furthermore, these guidelines provide clarifications on certain features of utility tokens, NFTs and hybrid tokens."

HKMA also published an accompanying letter.

The consultation paper explores:

(i) a comparison of two options:

• adding the Crypto Asset Reporting Framework into Australian tax law;
• customising a policy approach.

(ii) related amendments to the Common Reporting Standard (CRS).

Deadline for responses is 24 January 2025.

The bill confirms the existence of a third category of personal property into which digital holdings including cryptocurrency, non-fungible tokens and carbon credits could fall.

Previously, digital belongings were not definitively included in the scope of English and Welsh property law.

The new law will therefore "give legal protection to owners and companies against fraud and scams, while helping judges deal with cases where digital holdings are disputed or form part of settlements, for example in divorce cases."

The action being taken on digital assets is in response to the Law Commission’s report in 2023. The Ministry of Justice commissioned the report to identify any barriers to the recognition of digital assets as property under English and Welsh private law and to recommend solutions. 

The Bill has been introduced into the House of Lords under the special parliamentary procedure for Law Commission bills.

The Government also announced in a written statement that it accepts the recommendation to set up an expert group who can provide guidance on technical and legal issues relating to digital assets. The Ministry of Justice has asked the UK Jurisdiction Taskforce (UKJT), an expert group chaired by the Master of the Rolls that produces non-binding guidance on areas of legal uncertainty, to take forward this work.

See also the press release from the Law Commission regarding the new bill.