TSN Barristers and Solicitors, one of Gibraltar’s leading law firms, hosted its first Digital Breakfast at their offices during July. The event was attended by over 40 Gibraltar professionals involved in the digital assets and distributed ledger technology industries and it served to raise some unique, thought provoking points on the management of digital assets and the digital estate.
Guest speaker at the event was Leigh Sagar Esq, Barrister of New Square Chambers, London, who has recently published a book, ‘The Digital Estate’. Mr Sagar’s talk focused on the legal considerations of estate and trust planning with regards to digital assets and digital property.
“I would reiterate that people shouldn’t solely be concerned with regulatory aspects of DLT and digital assets,” said Mr Sagar, “there are other aspects such as, for example: planning for estates; securing digital assets; ensuring that fiduciaries have sufficient powers to manage and invest in crypto assets on behalf of others.” Food for thought for those attending, in particular those whose professional services in Gibraltar are already working in this relatively new area.
This is the second time that Leigh Sagar has visited the Rock and spoken on digital assets. He recognises Gibraltar’s position as a jurisdiction with a strong regulatory framework and described local knowledge of digital assets as “genuinely impressive and only natural”. He added: “As a result, I was happy to share my thoughts and talk about legal considerations and planning around digital assets.”
Also making a presentation at the Digital Breakfast, TSN Associate, Philip Vazquez, spoke about TSN’s services, their strong Fintech Team and their involvement with clients whose businesses work in DLT and cryptocurrencies saying: “…we wanted to illustrate that there are further considerations in respect of enforcement, estate planning, wills, trusts, taxation and private client when it comes to digital assets. As Gibraltar increasingly attracts leaders in DLT and cryptocurrencies, the consideration of these individuals’ personal affairs need to be considered by professionals and intermediaries. We are happy that this unique facet of discussion was very well received and we look forward to holding more unique, value-driven events.”
TSN’s technology and financial services team regularly advise on cryptocurrency mining intermediaries, token generating events, investment funds investing in cryptocurrencies, advising banks on on-boarding of cryptocurrency business, dispute resolution concerning digital assets and private client work and planning relating to digital assets. They also have experience in advising on software development agreements and other regulatory considerations. “As one of Gibraltar’s more versatile and approachable firms,”said Philip Vazquez, “we wanted to hold an event showcasing our ability to assist beyond matters relating to the established regulatory positioning that Gibraltar enjoys in relation to Distributed Ledger Technologies.
TSN’s Digital Breakfast dealing with digital assets is just one example of how Gibraltar is rising to the challenges brought about by cryptocurrencies. This is a completely new area of expertise and the world is still working out how digital assets and their management, particularly in terms of estate planning and succession, fit in with the law, which was not designed to take cryptocurrencies and digital assets into account. Gibraltar’s professionals, working with leading experts like Leigh Sagar Esq, are leading the way in finding how the law can best be applied to digital assets.
