The rising strength of the United Arab Emirates as a commercial powerhouse has continued as the Covid-19 pandemic recedes. The UAE was a key business hub prior to 2020, but the flow of money and talent into the country has increased since then, driven by numerous factors including the UAE’s business-friendly climate, its stable political regime, and the access to fair and transparent justice mechanisms.

They are all the rage: People are forming decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) as vehicles to purchase or bid on a wide range of assets—NFL teams, golf courses, fossil-fuel companies, even a copy of the U.S. Constitution.

In the world of cryptocurrency, exchange platforms act as intermediaries allowing investors to buy and sell assets while making money through commissions and transaction fees. Any assets purchased may be held in either non-custodial or custodial wallets. If a customer chooses a custodial wallet, the platform holds and manages the assets through a private key, which is a string of characters that serves as a password. If a key is lost or forgotten, it may be impossible to recover, resulting in the permanent loss of the asset.

Rising distress? 2022 in statistics31 December 2022

Court exercises discretion to grant examination orders The Court of Appeal affirmed the High Court’s exercise of its discretion to grant orders that a company director be examined in Court notwithstanding that director was involved (as defendant in one instance and as the director of a defendant company in the other) in separate legal proceedings that have been commenced by the liquidator.

Cryptoassets are in the spotlight for many reasons. The use of cryptocurrencies as an alternative to fiat currencies is being explored and tested further by global events. Their correlation with traditional stores of value is being tested in volatile markets. Their status as both a potential means of avoiding sanctions and as a possible means of funding charitable and humanitarian causes is being demonstrated and discussed.

An increasing body of English case law has recognised cryptocurrencies as a form of property giving rise to the possibility of insolvency clawback claims involving cryptoassets.

Recent developments

MR DOLLAR BILL LTD V PERSONS UNKNOWN AND OTHERS [2021] EWHC 2718 (Ch)

Part 1 of this article considered some of the checks and balances that apply when seeking access to one of the law’s most potent weapons, including the tests the applicant must satisfy, and exceptions that are commonly included in the order made by the court (see ‘Freezing orders: policing the nuclear option (Pt 1)’, NLJ, 7 & 14 January 2022, p15).

In her recent keynote speech, delivered at the 25th IBA Competition Conference on 10 September 2021, European Commission (the Commission) Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager called for a green revolution—the replacement of a linear economy with a circular one, coupled with investments in infrastructure.

Introduction

Cryptocurrency has become a major talking point and an accessible investment option for retail investors. As it has become mainstream, and the ownership of cryptocurrency has become easier and more user friendly, the value associated with most cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Nano has seen huge gains.