gunnercooke has announced it is now accepting payment for legal and professional services via cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum and Bitcoin, in a move believed to be the first for a major law firm in the UK.
Such payments are being accepted in a growing number of professional industries, but there are currently no major players in the UK to drive this change in the legal sector.
The firm has already received its first payment of this kind for legal consultancy services this week, made using Ethereum. The firm advised Attestant on a range of legal and regulatory matters related to “crypto-staking”, a process used to verify cryptocurrency transactions.
Cryptocurrency exchange platform coinpass, which is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has partnered with gunnercooke to make the exchanges.
Naseer Patel, Finance Director at gunnercooke, added:
“Up to now, only a few US law firms allow for cryptocurrency payments so we are proud to be at the forefront of innovation in the UK. We will now be able to work with a wider variety of clients across different jurisdictions, plus offer our partners the flexibility to be paid securely in the way they choose.”
gunnercooke has built up one of the leading FinTech and Cryptoasset full-service practices with experts in the UK and Germany, including James Burnie FRSA and Wolfgang Richter. Burnie hosts the firm’s Crypto Cast podcast, a leading source of industry news, featuring guests from Ziglu, The Law Commission, Copper and Nickel Digital Asset Management.
Financial Services & FinTech Partner James Burnie said:
“We are delighted to be the first major UK law firm to officially start accepting payment in cryptocurrency.
It is vital that we accept payment in this way for our substantial client base, which spans the entire blockchain and cryptoasset ecosystem. Accepting payment in cryptocurrency demonstrates our commitment to and understanding of this important and growing community.”
Over the next decade I expect to see a gradual transition towards cryptocurrency becoming increasingly accepted as a means of payment generally.”