Property (Digital Assets etc) Bill [HL] 2024-26

1

Clause 1, page 1, line 5, leave out “a thing in” and insert “capable of”

<p>This amendment, connected to another in the name of Lord Holmes of Richmond, seeks to provide a statutory basis for recognising digital assets as property, while removing any presumption that these assets cannot be accommodated by the existing two categories of personal property rights.</p>

2

Clause 1, page 1, line 6, leave out paragraph (b) and insert—<br> “(b) a right that may only be claimed or enforced by legal action or proceedings against another person or persons.”

<p>This amendment, connected to another in the name of Lord Holmes of Richmond, seeks to provide a statutory basis for recognising digital assets as property, while removing any presumption that these assets cannot be accommodated by the existing two categories of personal property rights.</p>

3

After Clause 1, insert the following new Clause—<br> <b>“Codes of practice on attributes of digital assets conferring property rights</b><br> (1) On the day on which this Act is passed, the Secretary of State must publish codes of practice on the attributes of digital things which confer personal property rights.<br> (2) In reaching any judgment on whether a digital asset is the object of personal property rights, the courts of England and Wales and Northern Ireland must have regard to the codes of practice published under subsection (1).”

<p>This amendment seeks to ensure the Secretary of State publishes guidance which must be considered by the courts when determining whether digital things can be the object of personal property rights.</p>

4

After Clause 1, insert the following new Clause—<br> <b>“Review: impact of digital assets being treated as property by virtue of this Act</b><br> (1) On the day on which this Act is passed, the Secretary of State must publish an economic impact assessment of digital assets being treated as property by virtue of this Act.<br> (2) The impact assessment under subsection (1) must include, but is not limited to—<br> (a) the estimated change in demand for, and use of, digital assets and the impact of this on data centre power usage, and<br> (b) the current level of data centre provision and its ability to meet any increase in demand for digital assets.”

5

After Clause 1, insert the following new Clause—<br> <b>“Review: impact of digital assets being treated as property by virtue of this Act on any need for regulation</b><br> Within six months of the day on which this Act is passed, the Secretary of State must conduct a review on any need for further regulation of stablecoins and tokenised deposits due to any such digital assets being treated as property by virtue of this Act.”

6

Title, line 1, leave out “capable of” and insert “not prevented from”

<p>This amendment seeks to restate the long title more clearly, so that it is consistent with the operative Clause of the Bill.</p>

None

Clause 1, page 1, line 5, leave out “a thing in” and insert “capable of"

None

Clause 1, page 1, line 6, leave out paragraph (b) and insert- "(b) a right that may only be claimed or enforced by legal action or proceedings against another person or persons.”

None

After Clause 1, insert the following new Clause- "Codes of practice on attributes of digital assets conferring property rights (1) On the day on which this Act is passed, the Secretary of State must publish codes of practice on the attributes of digital things which confer personal property rights. (2) In reaching any judgment on whether a digital asset is the object of personal property rights, the courts of England and Wales and Northern Ireland must have regard to the codes of practice published under subsection (1).”

None

After Clause 1, insert the following new Clause- “Review: impact of digital assets being treated as property by virtue of this Act (1) On the day on which this Act is passed, the Secretary of State must publish an economic impact assessment of digital assets being treated as property by virtue of this Act. (2) The impact assessment under subsection (1) must include, but is not limited to – (a) the estimated change in demand for, and use of, digital assets and the impact of this on data centre power usage, and (b) the current level of data centre provision and its ability to meet any increase in demand for digital assets."

None

After Clause 1, insert the following new Clause- "Review: impact of digital assets being treated as property by virtue of this Act on any need for regulation Within six months of the day on which this Act is passed, the Secretary of State must conduct a review on any need for further regulation of stablecoins and tokenised deposits due to any such digital assets being treated as property by virtue of this Act."

None

Title, line 1, leave out “capable of” and insert “not prevented from"

6

After Clause 1, insert the following new Clause—<br> <b>“Review: impact of any digital assets being treated as property by virtue of this Act</b><br> (1) Within six months of the day on which this Act is passed, the Secretary of State must lay before both Houses of Parliament a review analysing the impacts of this Act.<br> (2) The review made under subsection (1) must include analysis of the impact of any digital assets being treated as property by virtue of this Act on—<br> (a) data centre power usage in relation to digital assets,<br> (b) the need for data centre construction and expansion,<br> (c) the viability of creating a government digital sovereign gilt,<br> (d) the desirability of establishing an objective for the National Wealth Fund relating to tokenisation opportunities,<br> (e) the need for further regulation of stablecoins and tokenised deposits,<br> (f) the need for international interoperability standards for digital bonds, and<br> (g) the need for a review of the tax regime to assess how it interacts with digital assets.”

1

Clause 1, page 1, line 2, leave out from first “thing” to second “is”

<p>This probing amendment seeks to remove the parenthetical reference to “digital or electronic” things.</p>

2

Clause 1, page 1, line 2, at end insert “and has never been”

<p>This probing amendment seeks to give the Bill retrospective effect.</p>

3

Clause 1, page 1, line 5, leave out “a thing in” and insert “capable of”

<p>This probing amendment, connected to another in the name of Lord Anderson of Ipswich, seeks to provide a statutory basis for recognising digital assets as property, while removing any presumption that these assets cannot be accommodated by the existing two categories of personal property rights.</p>

4

Clause 1, page 1, line 6, leave out paragraph (b) and insert—<br> “(b) a right that may only be claimed or enforced by legal action or proceedings against another person or persons.”

<p>This probing amendment, connected to another in the name of Lord Anderson of Ipswich, seeks to provide a statutory basis for recognising digital assets as property, while removing any presumption that these assets cannot be accommodated by the existing two categories of personal property rights.</p>

5

After Clause 1, insert the following new Clause—<br> <b>“Attributes of digital assets conferring property rights</b><br> In determining whether a digital thing can be the object of personal property rights, regard may be had to whether the thing—<br> (a) is composed of data represented in an electronic medium, including in the form of computer code, electronic, digital or analogue signals,<br> (b) exists independently of persons and exists independently of the legal system, and<br> (c) is rivalrous.”

<p>This probing amendment seeks to specify indicia that may be considered by the courts when determining whether digital things can be the object of personal property rights.</p>

8

Clause 2, page 1, line 10, leave out “(Digital Assets etc)” and insert “(Objects of Personal Property Rights)”

<p>This probing amendment to the short title, connected to another in the name of Lord Anderson of Ipswich, seeks to restate the title of the Bill by removing reference to specific types of thing which the Bill applies to.</p>

9

Title, line 1, after “provision” insert “(with retrospective effect)”

<p>This probing amendment, connected to another in the name of Lord Anderson of Ipswich, seeks to draw attention to the Bill’s retrospective effect, if amended.</p>

10

Title, line 1, leave out “capable of” and insert “not prevented from”

<p>This probing amendment seeks to restate the long title more clearly, so that it is consistent with the operative clause of the Bill.</p>

7

Clause 2, page 1, line 8, leave out “only” and insert “and Northern Ireland”

<p>This amendment extends the territorial extent of the Bill so that it will form part of the law of Northern Ireland as well as that of England and Wales.</p>