UK introduces bill to clarify Bitcoin's legal status | Bitcoin News by CoinCorner

Transcript

It seems the UK is moving in the right direction by introducing a new bill recognising Bitcoin as personal property. Japan's largest power company has begun Bitcoin mining with renewable energy, and the number of businesses choosing to adopt Bitcoin is up 30% in a year.

As always, kicking things off with Bitcoin's price, we've had more of the same sideways movement, failing to break out of the pattern that has now lasted over six months. The price is up around 10% this week, but it's still down approximately 22% from the peak. However, with summer coming to a close, interest rate cuts on the horizon, and the US presidential election nearing, there's the potential for things to start getting more exciting.

Now, moving on to our first story. We have big news this week in the UK as Parliament introduces a new bill to recognise Bitcoin and crypto assets as personal property. Up until now, digital belongings were not included in the scope of English and Welsh property law, leaving owners in a legal grey area if their assets were interfered with. The new law will therefore help to provide legal protection to owners and companies against fraud and scams, whilst also helping judges deal with complex cases where digital holdings are disputed or form part of settlements, for example in divorce cases. This is great news in terms of getting fair legal treatment for Bitcoin holders, but this new bill also intends to allow the UK legal sector to respond to new technologies and attract more business and investment to the legal services industry, which is already worth £34 billion a year to the economy. English law already governs £250 billion of global mergers and acquisitions and 40% of global corporate arbitrations, so keeping the law up to date is vital to ensure that the UK remains the law of choice internationally.

Another country choosing to embrace Bitcoin is Japan, where their largest power company, TECO, has begun mining Bitcoin using excess renewable energy. TECO's subsidiary Agile Energy X has installed mining rigs next to solar farms in Japan's Gunma and Tochigi areas so that they can utilise excess green energy for Bitcoin mining that otherwise would be wasted. The benefits are abundant as this helps prevent energy from going to waste, stops the grid from being overloaded, and provides an additional stream of revenue for power companies. The business model could also encourage further investment into the clean energy sector when paired with Bitcoin mining. Other countries are also tapping into excess renewables for Bitcoin mining, like El Salvador, which uses geothermal energy. All of this dispels the myth that Bitcoin is environmentally hazardous, as much of the mining uses energy that otherwise would be wasted.

Now, speaking of El Salvador, this month marks their three-year anniversary of adopting Bitcoin as legal tender. The nation will go down in history for being the first, and currently only, country in the world to adopt Bitcoin in this way and intentionally accumulate a Bitcoin treasury. Over the years, President Bukele's decision has received widespread criticism, especially after Bitcoin fell from highs of $69,000 to lows of $16,000 following the collapse of FTX in November 2021. However, since 2022, they saw the opportunity and have been purchasing one Bitcoin a day, with no plans to stop until it becomes unaffordable. Courageously, they hodl through the bear market, sitting on a huge loss, but they now hold over 5,865 Bitcoin worth $318 million, which, according to the portfolio tracking website, puts them at a profit of $31 million.