Share this article
Law Society of England and Wales Tells Members to Be Wary of Bitcoin Use in Transactions
"This is a cash transaction so there is a high risk of money laundering," the professional body told its members.
Updated May 11, 2023, 3:41 p.m. Published Aug 24, 2022, 4:22 p.m.
The Law Society of England and Wales said members should treat bitcoin as cash and be aware of potential money laundering issues when clients choose to use the cryptocurrency for transactions.
Responding to a question seeking advice on the purchase of a property with the proceeds of bitcoin investment, the professional association for lawyers said while there is no specific guidance, members need to establish the source of funds used to buy the bitcoin.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
"This is a cash transaction, so there is a high risk of money laundering," it said in a post on its website. There is a "significant risk" in this transaction that the bitcoin "may be derived from criminal activity."
"Under regulation 33 of the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations 2017, you must apply enhanced due diligence (EDD) measures dictated by the level of risk and obligations on source of wealth and source of funds."
Membership of the society is included in the cost of a practicing certificate for solicitors in England and Wales. Its judgement on bitcoin therefore is likely to have far-reaching implications for how bitcoin is treated.
Read more: Citi Flags Crypto-Backed Real Estate Mortgages Amid Falling Market Conditions
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
State of Crypto: Wrapping Up the Month
Congress continues to make progress on crypto issues but things are moving slowly.
Top Stories
