Northern Ireland is tied with London for cryptocurrency ownership, a Stormont committee has heard.

Stormont’s finance committee heard that this relates to the number of people who own cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin.

Fidelma O’Hagan, from the Treasury, said it is very difficult to identify how many people are involved in cryptocurrency because of how it is managed.

She told the committee that the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) 2023 survey, derived from a 2021 online survey, found when looking at the profile of adults owning cryptocurrencies, ownership was highest in Northern Ireland and London.

“It didn’t go on to say why, and that’s as much information as we could find,” she said.

“The survey found that across the UK, 39% had a value of less than £100 at the time and 52% had a value of less than £250.”

The committee was briefed on a proposed change to the law to help courts deal with digital assets.

Michael Foster of the Treasury said the Digital Assets ETC (Digital Assets ETC) Bill is not intended to bring about root and branch reform of financial services, or new rights or obligations for those who currently own or hold digital assets.

“Someone who has, for example, an investment in Bitcoin at the moment, will find no change in their legal position as a result of this bill,” he told MPs.

“What the Bill is intended to do is to clarify the law in relation to the classification of these types of assets because the Law Commission essentially found that clarity would be of great help to businesses and those who hold them as personal assets, and perhaps most urgently to judges, who may at some point need to consider these types of assets, whether in a contractual matter or a financial dispute or a range of other circumstances.”

Committee chairman Matthew O’Toole described the level of cryptocurrency ownership in Northern Ireland as interesting given the small population, and said they intend to request further information from the FCA.