Overview

Blockchain and digital assets have moved from a technical curiosity to a live area of legal practice. This course builds the legal vocabulary and framework qualified lawyers need: the basics in plain terms, the legal status of cryptoassets as property, smart contract enforceability, custody, evidence and the current UK and EU regulatory position. Four units.

Learning Objectives

Upon course completion, employees will gain a full and clear understanding of:

• What a blockchain, a token, a wallet and a private key actually are, in plain terms
• The current legal status of cryptoassets as property under English law
• The basic shape of a smart contract's legal enforceability
• The difference between self-custody and third-party custodial wallets, and why it carries legal consequences
• What an on-chain record actually shows as evidence, and its limits
• The current UK and EU regulatory picture as at September 2026
• Where legal risk concentrates: fraud and tracing, custody failure, regulatory exposure, and disputes over what was actually agreed

Course Contents

Unit 1: Blockchain and Digital Assets, the Basics for Lawyers

• What a blockchain, a token and a cryptoasset actually are
• Wallets and private keys, the one genuinely unfamiliar concept, explained clearly
• The basic shape of a smart contract, and how it differs from a contract you already know
• Pseudonymity, block explorers and what an on-chain record actually shows

Unit 2: Cryptoassets as Property, and On-Chain Records as Evidence

• The old legal puzzle, and how the UK Jurisdiction Taskforce and case law began resolving it
• The Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025 and why it is the single most important fact in this field
• HMRC's tax treatment of cryptoassets, including the lost private key position
• D'Aloia v Persons Unknown: tracing evidence tested at full trial, and service by NFT airdrop

Unit 3: Smart Contracts, Custody and Where Legal Risk Concentrates

• Smart contract enforceability under existing law, and the two areas still needing work
• Self-custody versus third-party custody, and what happens on a custodian's insolvency
• How cryptoasset fraud actually happens, and the civil remedies available
• A practical checklist for advising a client

Unit 4: Regulation, and Disputes Over What Was Agreed

• The UK's current live regime, and the fuller regime already legislated but not yet in force
• The EU's MiCA, fully in effect, and the end of its transitional period
• Disputes over what a smart contract was actually supposed to do
• A practical checklist bringing the whole course together

Note

This course is general awareness training, not legal advice, as at September 2026. It reflects the position of English law and current UK and EU regulation at the time of writing. Learners should take their own advice on their specific obligations and should always confirm the current position before relying on any point in a live matter.