Cryptocurrencies and the notary profession. Two worlds that in the collective imagination are polar opposites but which in reality are closely connected, both as regards the use of Bitcoin as a bargaining chip, and for the functioning of the blockchain, the data encryption mechanism underlying the procedure. of “extraction” of cryptocurrency.
In Turin there is the studio of Remo Maria Morone, the notary who in 2018 affixed the seal on the first purchase in Bitcoin of a house in Italy (and one of the first in the world). Since then, the studio has received many calls from potential buyers who would like to buy a property by paying for it in cryptocurrency. “People call us because they think that using Bitcoins we can avoid paying the tax on real estate capital gains – explains Morone – but in reality it is not so: when I say that as soon as the transaction is completed, I go to register the deed with the Revenue Agency , they withdraw and proceed in more traditional ways ». In fact, one wonders how the Italian system frames cryptocurrencies, which for now are considered in the same way as foreign currencies and are not subject to specific regulations. Notary Morone wrote a book on this topic together with other experts in the sector. “With ‘Cryptoactivity, cryptocurrencies and bitcoin’, released in these days, I and some passionate friends have tried to take a picture of the current situation from an interdisciplinary point of view. Our leader is Stefano Capaccioli, an accountant from Arezzo, who has been wondering about the legal nature of cryptocurrencies since their birth. Then there are Stefano Cerrato, a lawyer and professor of commercial law at the University of Turin and Paolo Dal Checco, the leading Italian expert on the technical side of seizures and foreclosures ». Morone however warns: “Our book is already old, because that of cryptocurrencies is a world, in many respects, in constant change”.
An evolution that, according to the notary, will lead his profession to become obsolete in the long term. As mentioned, the Bitcoin currency is closely linked to the blockchain system, a “chain of blocks” in which data is recorded and which is held up by computers that around the world make available their computing power and they are rewarded in cryptocurrencies.
The information stored in the blockchain are records of transactions of various kinds: digital signatures, certificates of authenticity, deeds of sale and so on. Many of these activities overlap with the services usually offered by a notary. Morone realizes this: «The notary profession is complementary to the blockchain. More blockchain means less notary, ”he observes. “However, this should not lead us to view this new system with distrust: the transition process will be very slow and the notary’s job will be to act as a bridge and lead people to trust this revolutionary technology“. And he adds: “We must not make the mistake of trying to instill distrust of the blockchain because we risk obtaining the opposite result, namely that people stop trusting professionals because they see that the technology works better”. But what computer systems are unable to replace is the “human touch” of the professional. «The notary serves to certify the intention behind the transaction. Let’s imagine an elderly lady who gives up hers smart card (the tool to affix the digital signature, ed) to another person: who is able to control the real will of the customer? At the moment, only the notary, ”concludes Morone. A future to be written, both in analogue and digital.