Decentralized finance — or DeFi for short — is the name that’s been given to a variety of new applications designed specifically to disrupt the historic structure of the financial market. The theory behind DeFi is based on blockchain, technology that allows a number of parties to share ownership of…

In their new taxation guidelines HMRC have stated that as cryptocurrencies (and by ‘cryptocurrencies’ they mean exchange tokens like Bitcoin, advice on security and utility tokens will follow) are neither money nor securities in their eyes, they will be exempted from stamp tax. On the surface this might look like good news for investors but many think the new guidelines could actually herald a massive administrative headache for everyone involved.

Public perception is often that litigation is stressful, expensive and drawn out, but this is only the case if the lawyers involved work for rather than with the industries they specialise in. However, when lawyers take one step back and invest the time required to learn their sector, to identify…

As a result of the stratospheric rise in its popularity, law firms and other professional advisers have been quick to position themselves as cryptocurrency experts, promoting teams who — seemingly overnight — have acquired all of the requisite experience. Predictably the charge is being led by the big boys. Many…

In July last year Spanish authorities arrested a criminal team headed by Alex Estevez, figurehead of the renowned Spanish restaurant Don Alex for producing counterfeit bottles of Vega Sicilia and Pingus, wine they then reportedly sold online for a total of €1.5m. While we recently blogged about the increasing threat…

Action Fraud, The UK’s national fraud helpline, recently released figures showing more than 1200 would be investors in the UK lost an unbelievable £15 million in Bitcoin related scams between March 2018 and March 2019, a total that averages out at over £41,000 per day. Even more incredibly Action Fraud’s…

Canadian cryptocurrency exchange QuadrigaCX may well owe its customers $250 million but following the death of their CEO apparently no one knows the password required to access it. …

The European Commission recently held a roundtable discussion on cryptocurrencies, which was attended by representatives of the European Central Bank, the Financial Stability Board and various industry groups, reports the Guardian. According to Vice-President Dombrovskis, who hosted the meeting, its purpose was to feed into the Commission’s upcoming Action Plan…

As the value of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin continues to soar, so does its public profile. It seems a day can’t go past without new comment on the on the regulation, legality and taxability of bitcoin. …