This article explores the extent to which recent developments in English law have furthered the Government’s objectives to make English law the law of choice for blockchain technology and provide effective remedies for cryptoasset owners to uphold contracts and recover lost or stolen digital assets. It also addresses the questions of (1) whether cryptoassets are property, (2) whether they can be held on trust, and (3) where cryptoassets are located, and covers some possible future legal developments relating to cryptoassets including initiatives such as the UK Law Commission’s Digital Assets Project.

This material was first published by Thomson Reuters, trading as Sweet & Maxwell, 5 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5AQ, in Journal of International Banking Law and Regulation as Steven Baker and Julia Bihary, “From Cryptic to (Some) Clarity: English Law and Policy Rising to the Challenge of Cryptoassets” (2022) 37 J.I.B.L.R. 311–316 and is reproduced by agreement with the publishers.