In an article published in Proactove Investors, they suggested that with Christmas around the corner, some unimaginative presents this year are likely to be in the form of paper money or a cheque. However, in the coming years, cryptocurrency could become the default method of gifting money to friends and family.
The global remittances market, where money is often transferred to someone in another country, could be an immediate growth market for the use of cryptocurrencies, analysts at ING predict, which could have the effect of pushing down transaction fees and allowing more frequent and cheaper transactions.
On a slightly more morbid note, legal experts have warned of problems around inheritance when a person dies and leaves cryptocurrency in their will.
Several senior British judges and lawyers made an official statement that crypto assets are classed as ‘tradable property’ under English and Welsh law, while also defining smart contracts (self-executive agreements written into the code of a blockchain network) as legally enforceable.
Tim Snaith comments that while such a classification “may be a step forward”, the law is still a long way behind and could give rise to issues when a person dies holding digital assets.
“For many assets (for example bank accounts), there are established systems and processes in place to assist in these circumstances. In the case of digital assets, however, these systems are only just being designed or thought about, so a lot of care is needed,” Snaith said.
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