UK positions itself to become the Web3 leader for the world’s digital commerce.
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Several weeks ago, the second most senior judge in England and Wales, Master of the Rolls Sir Geoffrey Vos, made one of the most bullish speeches on the inevitability of blockchain as a tool of global commerce and the necessity for the UK (and more specifically England and Wales) to become the jurisdiction of choice in this bold new future. And on Monday 4 April, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury John Glen MP, standing in for the Chancellor, announced a raft of measures that many anticipate will make Britain a global fintech Web3 and blockchain leader.
The pioneer of much of this work is the UK Jurisdiction Taskforce (UKJT), which was convened under the watchful eye of Sir Geoffrey and is supported in its work by Lawtech UK. Last year, it published the new Digital Dispute Resolution Rules (DDRR) which are an invaluable legislative tool for companies and individuals engaging in Web3 trade. They create a clear, transparent and relevant framework for dealing with disputes with regard to digitally represented assets (including physical assets represented by digital receipts such as NFTs).
Mattereum was delighted to see the new Rules published: in our view, they go a long way toward enabling vital global commerce in the Web3 setting. In terms of improving fairness and equity, they level the playing field by ensuring affordable access to justice for smaller players including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and more specialised companies in the circular economy space. Lawtech UK’s conference on smart contracts featured keynote speeches by Sir Geoffrey, industry leaders and a presentation by Vinay Gupta.
Mattereum is one of the most mature companies in the Web3 space.
Since 2017, Mattereum has been at the cutting edge of technical and legal innovation concerned with the impact of Web3 technologies on national and international trade in physical goods.
In 2021, Mattereum was the first company to incorporate the UKJT’s new Digital Dispute Resolution Rules into our smart contracts [1], because we believe that Mattereum’s customers ought to benefit from the most advanced legal instruments in the world when it comes to ensuring that their commercial interests are protected.
This is important to us because we know that the rule of law and access to justice should not be reserved for the largest companies or the wealthiest individuals. The right to effective remedy enshrined in international treaties should be accessible to everyone and it is the responsible thing to ensure that this is true for our customers. For example, a smallholder producing coffee in Kenya should have as much recourse to justice as a tech company in the USA, a computer hardware manufacturer in India, a fashion house in Italy or a furniture maker in Brazil. Mattereum’s ecosystem, drawing on the best of international law, treats all of those actors equally.
Britain is not alone in working towards better recognition of Web3 technologies. President Biden’s Executive Order issued in March of this year (2022) sought to recognise the benefits of crypto assets whilst also leaning on perceived downsides. It was broadly welcomed: most blockchain businesses look forward to being regulated and having a clear, fair and transparent framework within which to operate. When it comes to public policy, acknowledgement can often be the first or the most significant step towards mainstreaming a new way of doing things. And as far as governments are concerned, acceptance of new technologies or processes means regulation — and hopefully regulation that is fair to both businesses and consumers.
Nonetheless, when it comes to leading OECD countries, the sharpest minds in the British government and the judiciary are several steps ahead of the US and some others. They recognise the direction of travel in global markets, and they are adamant that Britain must lead and not be left behind. Master of the Rolls Sir Geoffrey Vos has said: “We should not allow the tail, however waggy, to wag the huge dispute resolution dog.” As we often observe, British judges are some of the most intelligent public servants in the world with vast analytical skills. Sir Geoffrey can see very clearly the way the future will develop; he and his team are doing all they can to ensure that UK jurisdictions continue to lead when it comes to global commercial dispute resolution — be it around the bricks and mortar of a skyscraper in the City of London; an NFT acting as a digital receipt for a 100g gold bar owned by one of Matteruem’s customers, or a commemorative coin produced by the Royal Mint on the Chancellor’s instruction.
Matterum’s vision and capabilities go further. Mattereum Asset Passports, attached to every asset which enters our ecosystem, have the capacity to add value and accountability by enhancing the record of that asset’s provenance, its utility, its composition and even data such as its carbon footprint or the labour conditions in which it was produced. Mattereum ensures that those seeking to own, collect, trade or invest in assets are able to access information that is fully accurate and transparent — and ensures that an asset’s veracity is legally enforceable in over 160 jurisdictions worldwide.
At Mattereum we are at the forefront of building and implementing these tools, alongside our partners. We want to see frictionless global commerce for players of all sizes, and in as many jurisdictions as possible. We want to ensure that access to justice and to the principles which underpin it (such as effective remedy) is universal and accessible to everyone — including independent traders, social enterprises working to enable the circular economy, and global conglomerates. Transparency, accountability, due process, fairness and procedural justice are great enablers of a functional system of commerce, and a functional society focused on improving outcomes, wealth and success for all citizens.
Speaking on behalf of The UK Government, Economy Minister John Glen MP said that “…part of the way we become that pre-eminent financial centre that [the Chancellor] describes is by having the technology here to do things better”. Mattereum is enabling the ecosystem to realise that vision.
Can the UK become the Web3 leader for the world’s digital commerce? With the appropriate legislation, legal framework — and with the right leadership among civil servants, judges, lawyers and business leaders — unequivocally yes. Mattereum is proud to be part of that journey and building that future.
[1] https://passport.mattereum.com/Alexander_Screenprint_Warhol_01/
