Blog
Kingsley Napley’s Medical Negligence Team ‘walks together’ with the Dame Vera Lynn Children’s Charity
Sharon Burkill
The price of Bitcoin and other crypto assets is notoriously unstable.
Whether caused by a cryptic crypto related tweet from a billionaire inventor, or a crypto crackdown being announced by regulators of the world’s second largest economy, the rise and fall of crypto assets continues to prove that crypto can be risky business.
With this volatility and also the emergence of lenders who are prepared to consider crypto proceeds to make up a deposit, it is no surprise that we have received numerous enquiries this year from crypto investors who are ready to use some or all of their crypto investments in order to fund a property acquisition.
The difficulty is finding a suitable property with a seller who is also prepared to accept something other than fiat (government issued currency). With the volatility and lack of regulation around crypto, it is no surprise that there are very few sellers out there willing to accept crypto over fiat (for now at least). This has led to crypto investors having to either convert their crypto into fiat currency, or where they are reluctant to sell their assets (which will be a taxable event) then obtaining a collateralised crypto-to-fiat loan using their crypto assets as security.
A further difficulty crypto investors have to factor in is finding a solicitor who is willing to accept them as a client and accept their funds into their client account. Money laundering regulations not only require solicitors to take steps to verify the identity of a client, but they also require solicitors to take a risk based approach when looking to verify that the funds it will receive from a client are not the proceeds of crime. Invariably this has required us to work with our crypto investor clients to help identify the initial source of the funds used for their investment(s) into crypto and then establish an audit trail from the initial investment to the point it is cashed out.
In our next article, we will consider a market where there are more sellers willing to accept crypto, the difficulties that will need to be overcome and how this could work in practice.
Further Information
If you would like to discuss anything raised in this article then please contact Daniel Browne, a Senior Associate in our Real Estate & Construction team.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Daniel Browne is a Senior Associate in our Real Estate team. He has experience in most areas of commercial and residential real estate matters, acting for national and SME developers, local authorities, landowners, borrowers, lenders, investors, landlords and tenants.
Latest blogs & news
Rachel Reeves' first speech as UK Chancellor - addressing the future of housing
Rachel Reeves gives her first speech as UK Chancellor, addressing property developers. She mentions the importance of sustainable development, affordable housing, and innovation in the property sector.
Daniel Browne, Partner in our Real estate & Construction team, commented.
Kingsley Napley announces partner promotions in its growing Real Estate & Construction practice
Kingsley Napley LLP is proud to announce two new partners in its Real Estate & Construction practice, both a result of internal promotions.
Kingsley Napley supports Harwell to secure £300m new funding for next phase of campus development
Kingsley Napley LLP has supported longstanding client Harwell Science and Innovation Campus to secure £300m of financing to help it expand and build out new laboratory, advanced manufacturing and office space.
Kingsley Napley advises Harwell Campus on development, agreement for lease and construction for Moderna
Moderna has selected Harwell, as the location for its Moderna Innovation and Technology Centre (MITC) and Kingsley Napley is delighted to support our long standing client, Harwell Campus, on this development.
Press release: Kingsley Napley announces new partner in Real Estate
Law firm Kingsley Napley LLP is pleased to announce that Claire Lamkin is joining its Real Estate team as a Partner, with effect from this week.
New electronic signature rule speeds up online conveyancing - Ian Silverblatt quoted in Property Week
Ian Silverblatt, Partner in our Real Estate & Construction team, was quoted by Property Week on 6 August.
Kingsley Napley team advise on sale of stake in Harwell Science and Innovation Campus
Kingsley Napley advised Harwell Oxford Partners Limited and U and I (Projects) Limited on the property aspects of the sale of their combined 50% stake in the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus to Brookfield Asset Management, which completed on 17 April 2020.
Tom Beak comments on the Draft Registration of Overseas Entities Bill and how this is a positive step toward increasing transparency in the UK property market
Tom Beak, Associate in the Real Estate & Construction team, comments on the Joint Committee report on the Draft Registration of Overseas Entities Bill
Real Estate and Banking Client in the Press
Real Estate & Construction and Banking and Finance developer client in the press | Completed a financing with Santander for over £110million
You may also be interested in:
We welcome views and opinions about the issues raised in this blog. Should you require specific advice in relation to personal circumstances, please use the form on the contact page.
You may also be interested in:
Blog
The Stamp Duty Holiday was a welcome boost for the Property market, but what will follow?
Matthew Copeland
Blog
Cladding Crisis – a “big, bold, globally unprecedented” answer or a partial solution?
Tom Beak
Share insightLinkedIn X Facebook Email to a friend Print