UK officially passes law, recognizing bitcoin as property.

[Jubilee58]

Susie Ward, the CEO of bitcoin policy UK, made a pronunciation saying, "third category of property now exist and it finally gives protection to the sats you hold".

You can check here for more details and clarity:https://www.facebook.com/100045672716302/posts/pfbid0Xb9BJwjU5mymrGDfZ6Wow2gRHfo8vske4ovV3G1ot17ufpTWjUPiAD3SMEEh3Dfdl/?app=fbl

Do you think investors and institutions are anticipating this kind of legal clarity? As recognition and protection is a big win for bitcoin long term holders.

What is your take on this?

[Hypnotizer]

Does this news affect Nigerians in any way? Moreover the news was from on 3 December and to me this doesn’t affect any of us bcoz UK regulation no dey affect Nigerians in anyway. The news is a good one for the citizens of UK as the government has now formally recognize it as an asset and it will be protected by the law in the UK.

But I think the government are just trying to use this opportunity with the rise of crypto and bitcoin adoption to tax the people using bitcoin and that’s all.

[SatoPrincess]

I wouldn’t trust anything I see on Facebook or recommend Facebook as a reliable source of information. But yes I confirmed the news

I think it’s great the UK is beginning to embrace bitcoin. I know they banned bitcoin atms, hopefully with this new policy the UK will be more bitcoin friendly in the future.

Does this news affect Nigerians in any way? Moreover the news was from on 3 December and to me this doesn’t affect any of us bcoz UK regulation no dey affect Nigerians in anyway.

There are a lot of Nigerians living in the UK so yes this news does affect Nigerian migrants who are bitcoiners.

[Obulis]

Just wishing for more global hopeful news for our Bitcoin. That is Bitcoin taking more ground in every nation of the world.
UK doing that by implications is expressing the originality of Bitcoin for global hodlers even as Bitcoin investment is not guaranteed. What just happened in UK is not about the globe but in a way implying the gradual stance of Bitcoin.  The dominance of Bitcoin is real.

[She shining]

Bitcoin is getting bigger and more regulations and stricter kyc are on the way under the premise of legality and safe guarding their holdings. Nothing new that the EU are going against privacy and making Bitcoin recognized as a property is so they can properly regulate it and easily tax investors on their holdings.

[tabas]

it finally gives protection to the sats you hold".

While this is a good thing if it become a law. But I think people should be more rely to themselves if it's about protecting every sats that we hold. We know how to protect ourselves and that's about holding our own private keys and not letting it to the centralized platforms. This gives a broader look on crypto if it's considered now as a property. So, basically there can be more law suits if it has already become a law.

[Agbe]

I have not heard them taking Bitcoin as their legal tender currency and only hearing from you that UK is recognizing bitcoin as a property in the country. And that means they will tax Bitcoin as a property and asset as well? Op can you add more original news blogs about the information you given to make it more authentic. Facebook news has not been taken serious, nevertheless, there is an element of truth. We need more links on this. Those who are not using Facebook can't click your link.

[asriloni]

Bad news for sure. People in UK has to paid higher tax when they sell their Bitcoin. However, the good thing is that Bitcoin's stance in UK is getting clear with this law.

Nevertheless, i'd call this as a lose as i prefer Bitcoin to be treated as a currency instead of property.

[Zaguru12]

Bitcoin is getting bigger and more regulations and stricter kyc are on the way under the premise of legality and safe guarding their holdings. Nothing new that the EU are going against privacy and making Bitcoin recognized as a property is so they can properly regulate it and easily tax investors on their holdings.

You just sadly pointed out the negativity of having government intervention in bitcoin, they might believe in the idea behind bitcoin, the future that bitcoin is trying to build and they could easily agree with it but to be sincere they will never be able to agree with privacy rights that bitcoin actually brings because the government even if they cannot control anything do not want its citizens to be anonymous in any way so they will definitely be looking for platforms which can help them reduce the privacy freedom, that’s why most exchanges now are going to be imposing serious KYC policy if they want to be allowed to actually keep working in the country.

For me bitcoin has ways that one would stay anonymous most especially using a non custodial wallet the right way while broadcasting a transaction or performing any other functions

[Hispo]

This gets me a little bit confused, to be honest.
As far as I know the United Kingdom was already taxing their citizens for their profits in the cryptocurrency market, so that would imply the government of that country already recognized Bitcoin as some kind of asset with actual value or property. It would be very weird for a government to tax their citizens for something which does not supposedly have value in the market.

Perhaps I could be misunderstanding this news. The only positive thing I could make out if this, if they started to consider Bitcoin some kind of property which would not be taxable, but we all know that is pretty much impossible when we talk about a government like the one in the United Kingdom...

[Orpichukwu]

Bitcoin is getting bigger and more regulations and stricter kyc are on the way under the premise of legality and safe guarding their holdings. Nothing new that the EU are going against privacy and making Bitcoin recognized as a property is so they can properly regulate it and easily tax investors on their holdings.

Tight regulation is one thing the people should be prepared for as long as they are looking forward into the legality of Bitcoin. Now that it's being recognised, it means one can sue and be sued for business deals conducted using Bitcoin and can also be fined for not reporting profit and tax for all transactions conducted using that same recognised payment system (Bitcoin).

[Donneski]

This is a very positive move and definitely a welcome development for the crypto community. Having Bitcoin clearly recognised as property gives holders more protection and removes some of the legal uncertainty we’ve lived with for years. Institutions will also find it easier to take Bitcoin seriously when the law finally defines what they’re dealing with.

That said, I’m still a bit cautious and that's because the U.K. government hasn’t been the most Bitcoin-friendly in the past so whenever they clarify things, I always wonder what the catch might be. Once Bitcoin is boxed into a legal category, it becomes much easier to tighten rules or increase oversight later. So yes, it’s progress just the type we should watch closely.

[nelson4lov]

Bad news for sure. People in UK has to paid higher tax when they sell their Bitcoin. However, the good thing is that Bitcoin's stance in UK is getting clear with this law.

Nevertheless, i'd call this as a lose as i prefer Bitcoin to be treated as a currency instead of property.

Yeah, no shit. Imo, the government realized that they stand to gain more than they lose if they give Bitcoin some credibility and legalization to their citizens and that's why they decided to do it. It's the same in almost every country including mine. Previously, there was no CGT for Bitcoin and crypto. However, they recently "legalized" Bitcoin but only to add high CGT on top of it as cherry on top.

FWIW, UK citizens no longer have to indulge in Bitcoin from the shadows anymore.

[asriloni]

Bad news for sure. People in UK has to paid higher tax when they sell their Bitcoin. However, the good thing is that Bitcoin's stance in UK is getting clear with this law.

Nevertheless, i'd call this as a lose as i prefer Bitcoin to be treated as a currency instead of property.

Yeah, no shit. Imo, the government realized that they stand to gain more than they lose if they give Bitcoin some credibility and legalization to their citizens and that's why they decided to do it. It's the same in almost every country including mine. Previously, there was no CGT for Bitcoin and crypto. However, they recently "legalized" Bitcoin but only to add high CGT on top of it as cherry on top.

FWIW, UK citizens no longer have to indulge in Bitcoin from the shadows anymore.

Yeah that's the consequence when we're willing to see massive adoption to Bitcoin. One of major step to be regulated asset, but get ready to see the tax man will be coming to our house.

They know very well how people used bitcoin with the purpose of gambling fundamental. So they sees it as an opportunity, and try to tax it more. 

[Free Market Capitalist]

First of all, the UK has recognized all cryptocurrencies as property, not just Bitcoin.

Anyway, this seems to be somewhat good news, considering the mess the UK is turning into. There has probably been a lot of lobbying behind the scenes.

That said, I’m still a bit cautious and that's because the U.K. government hasn’t been the most Bitcoin-friendly in the past so whenever they clarify things, I always wonder what the catch might be. Once Bitcoin is boxed into a legal category, it becomes much easier to tighten rules or increase oversight later. So yes, it’s progress just the type we should watch closely.

I think it is another case of "if you can't beat them, join them", and as you say, once this step has been taken, what follows will be strict control, as is the case in the EU, as well as an interest in collecting taxes. This has not been done with citizens in mind (which is how they sell it), but rather with a view to raising more revenue.

[kisilea]

Legal recognition is definitely a positive step, mainly because it gives holders more confidence that their assets are protected under a clear framework. Even if the details still need time to settle, institutions usually pay attention to moves like this because it reduces uncertainty. For long-term investors, having bitcoin treated as a recognized form of property is another sign that regulation is moving toward clarity rather than restriction.

[NotATether]

Does this news affect Nigerians in any way? Moreover the news was from on 3 December and to me this doesn’t affect any of us bcoz UK regulation no dey affect Nigerians in anyway. The news is a good one for the citizens of UK as the government has now formally recognize it as an asset and it will be protected by the law in the UK.

But I think the government are just trying to use this opportunity with the rise of crypto and bitcoin adoption to tax the people using bitcoin and that’s all.

Why would it? This is a UK law for its own citizens. I doubt the Nigerian government would care about this any way.

First of all, the UK has recognized all cryptocurrencies as property, not just Bitcoin.

Anyway, this seems to be somewhat good news, considering the mess the UK is turning into. There has probably been a lot of lobbying behind the scenes.

I guess only capital gains taxes will still apply to it? Or will this recognition also affect property taxes?

[Hypnotizer]

Does this news affect Nigerians in any way? Moreover the news was from on 3 December and to me this doesn’t affect any of us bcoz UK regulation no dey affect Nigerians in anyway. The news is a good one for the citizens of UK as the government has now formally recognize it as an asset and it will be protected by the law in the UK.

But I think the government are just trying to use this opportunity with the rise of crypto and bitcoin adoption to tax the people using bitcoin and that’s all.

Why would it? This is a UK law for its own citizens. I doubt the Nigerian government would care about this any way.

I asked the question because this topic was first posted on naija local board, and I thought it doesn’t fit in the LB but this is the perfect board for it.

I guess only capital gains taxes will still apply to it? Or will this recognition also affect property taxes?

Maybe it will also include property taxes since it has been recognized as a property

[aoluain]

At least it gives clarity for crypto users in the UK, and confirms yet again that the days of Bitcoin and
crypto being slandered and attacked as being a scam are coming to an end.

This development is significant, as it gives statutory recognition to digital assets’ legal status as property.
Digital asset holders now benefit from greater protection over ownership, inheritance claims, and recovery efforts.
It also provides courts with clearer guidance when handling crypto-related disputes.

All those points are extremely important for crypto owners and they have all been discussed as points
of interest here on the forum in the past. It will be interesting to see for example how "crypto related disputes"
get resolved and how successful they are.

[GigaBit]

Do you think investors and institutions are anticipating this kind of legal clarity? As recognition and protection is a big win for bitcoin long term holders.

What is your take on this?

This legal recognition of Bitcoin will definitely be a great inspiration among people from all walks of life in the country. Those who were investors used Bitcoin only for their own safety. The government did not do anything about Bitcoin and the investors, but after the government considered Bitcoin as an asset, now people are generally able to see their Bitcoin as an asset. The government is giving legal legitimacy to their assets. Now, more attention will be paid to investing in Bitcoin for that country. Those who were afraid to invest in Bitcoin will now be able to make their investments regularly without any fear, and long-term holders will be even more encouraged.