Insights
By: Savvas Mallas
Digital Assets: three things you need to know
Savvas Mallas asks the experts
At the inaugural Stonehage Fleming Digital Asset Conference, we hosted a panel discussion – taking guests on a wide-ranging journey that considered the broader landscape of the market, education versus fear-of-missing-out, tax, regulation and what’s next for tokenisation.
Our panel of three experts shared some important insights on the most common concerns our clients have around digital assets. I wanted to share some of my key takeaways below.
Darius Askaripour – Managing Partner of Varys Capital
"Set aside a learning allocation for your ‘crypto tuition’. Discover the basics – how to convert fiat into crypto, how to safeguard your wallet and how to operate private and public keys. Then start moving your assets. It’s likely you’ll make mistakes on the way. You may even lose your whole ‘tuition’. Until you are an actual practitioner, learning how to deal with this new asset class is all just theory."
Richard Giangrande – Partner and tax expert at, Macfarlanes.
"It is important to make sure you understand the tax implications before you invest. It is essential to be aware of the complexities and risks around how this new asset class is taxed. HMRC’s view is that, in most cases, individuals will hold digital assets as a personal investment, subject to capital gains tax on disposal. However, that will not always be the case, and calculating and keeping track of gains is not always straightforward. This asset class raises other difficult questions, such as where assets are located for UK tax purposes."
Linus Lindgren – Entrepreneur and investor with over a decade working with digital assets
"Tokenisation represents a huge opportunity. It is a broad and varied concept with many potential applications from a legal, regulatory, compliance, business, accounting and technology perspective. While I don’t believe tokenisation will replace the ‘middle-man’, it will result in a huge increase in efficiencies."
Savvas is a Partner in the Family Office Division. He is responsible for a number of international high-net-worth clients, working with their families and their advisers around the globe.
Disclaimer: This does not constitute an offer, inducement or invitation to invest in digital assets. Cryptocurrencies and digital assets are not classified as investments in any of the jurisdictions in which the Stonehage Fleming Group operates. For this reason, the investment divisions will not advise on trading in digital assets. Digital assets are unregulated and highly volatile. You are unlikely to have any rights to protection or compensation if things go wrong. The tax treatment of digital assets is a complex and evolving area and depends upon individual circumstances. These comments do not represent the views of the Stonehage Fleming Group.