ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the challenges faced in identifying ownership and attributing accountability where transactions are funded through cryptocurrency or evidenced only on the blockchain. The state authorisation and use of bearer securities has declined for the self-evident reason that a bearer security, regarded as being owned by the person who has possession of it, is anonymous, travels freely and neatly avoids detection. Cryptocurrencies represent a renaissance in the bearer security industry, unrestrained by geography or jurisdiction, and a facilitator of transient ownership and fraud: Cryptocurrencies are digital bearer assets that once transferred cannot easily be recovered. The Isle of Man was amongst the first jurisdictions to introduce legislation to regulate cryptocurrencies. It has done so by not seeking to reinvent the wheel. The classification of virtual currency business as designated business means that any person undertaking this business must be registered with the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority prior to commencing business.
