Introduction to Financial Services Law and Distributed Ledger Technology

Abstract

Digital Ledger Technologies (DLT) have been in existence for almost 15 years. They introduced the possibility of truly global, peer-to-peer financial services. Regulators did not initially respond to this innovation but as it has become clear that digital assets are here to stay, different countries have started regulating them in different ways. The UK Government and regulatory agencies have conducted several reviews of the implications of DLT and have taken initial steps towards regulating the space, not least with the inclusion of digital assets in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023. This chapter introduces the topic of regulating the emerging digital and cryptoassets industry and outlines the structure and contents of the book.