Jonny Fry / James Tylee of Digital Bytes by Team Blockchain on Cyber.FM featuring Martin Bartlam and Nick Kosloff at DLA Piper.

Welcome to this week's Digital Bytes which as articles on the following topics:

Buy Now Pay Later embraces crypto and blockchain - there has been considerable growth both in interest and also in the number of users for BNPL and many of the platforms that offer this facility are using cryptos and the blockchain technology as a way to reduce costs and bring greater transparency to customers. Time will tell if BNPL firms can survive as many are currently not profitable, and the potential regulation of the crypto market could prove to be an added challenge for those BNPL firms using these digital assets.

Fine wines on a blockchain: why bother? - Blockchain technology can be used in the wine industry, both to help with provenance and also improve trust for buyers and sellers about fine wines. NFTs are now being used by vintners, whereby making it easier to invest in wine for smaller sums and reach a global audience. Given uncertain times in traditional markets and for cryptos, could investing fine wine prove to be a shrewd ‘liquid’ alternative which, if nothing, else can be drunk or gifted?

Crypto bear markets are not a bubble: they are down, but not out -Despite the recent dramatic fall in cryptocurrencies, they have proved able to keep trading 24/7. Lessons need to be learnt, though, as to how organisations need to communicate with the owners of crypto, and investors clearly need to exercise caution. However, the technology that powers cryptos can and indeed is now being used to create digital assets of real tangible assets, which could well prove to radically alter traditional markets. Turbulent, but exciting times are ahead for all!

Current trends on cryptocurrencies in the English courts - Rishi Sunak, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, stated his ambition "to make the UK a global hub for cryptoasset technology". If we are to meet that ambition, businesses and individuals (as well as policy makers and government officials) will need to understand the rapidly developing environment for cryptoassets and the risks and opportunities they present. A variety of regulatory developments, including the 4th April 2022 Treasury response to consultation on cryptoassets, have occurred over the past couple of years in the world of cryptoassets and the wider universe of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies. As the law on cryptoassets develops, it will be essential to understand the legal framework within which more new forms of rights and liabilities will be considered. However, a vast amount of legal landscape covering the proprietary nature of cryptocurrencies and the enforcement of on-chain property rights and remedies remains uncharted.