Lawyers Will Accept Bitcoin for Legal Fees in Washington DC
Key Takeaways
- The Washington D.C. Bar considers payments to state lawyers in crypto ethical for practitioners
- The Bar likens Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to property rather than fiat currencies
- Cryptocurrency adoption forces lawyers to consider novel methods of accepting payment
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Lawyers are expected to accept Bitcoin for their services in the near future, according to the DC Bar association. The trend follows the growing mainstream acceptance of cryptocurrency as a method of payment.
Following the examples of North Carolina, Nebraska, and New York City, the Washington D.C. Bar association recently published an opinion on the ethics of state lawyers accepting cryptocurrencies as a means of payment for their services.
According to the publication, if fees are reasonable and a lawyer can securely keep their crypto payments, they can do so.
Interestingly, the Bar didn’t identify cryptocurrencies merely as currencies like fiat. Unlike the CFTC, which deemed Bitcoin and altcoins as commodities, the D.C. Bar leaned towards comparing them to property.
On a positive note, the Bar highlighted the ongoing increase in cryptocurrency adoption. The document stated that despite regulatory challenges, lawyers have to consider Bitcoin and crypto payments as they gain more mainstream traction.
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