The United Kingdom has officially passed a bill into law that classifies digital assets, including cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, as property. This development is being hailed by advocates as a significant step towards better safeguarding crypto users.
Lord Speaker John McFall announced in the House of Lords on Tuesday that the Property (Digital Assets etc) Bill received royal assent, signifying King Charles's approval, thus enacting it into law.
Freddie New, policy chief at the advocacy group Bitcoin Policy UK, commented on X that the bill's enactment represents a "massive step forward for Bitcoin in the United Kingdom and for everyone who holds and uses it here."
While UK common law, based on judicial precedent, has historically recognized digital assets as property, the new bill aims to codify a recommendation made by the Law Commission of England and Wales in 2024. This recommendation proposed categorizing crypto as a distinct form of personal property to provide greater clarity.
The advocacy group CryptoUK stated that while UK courts had previously treated digital assets as property through case-by-case judgments, Parliament has now formally enshrined this principle into law.
"This gives digital assets a much clearer legal footing — especially for things like proving ownership, recovering stolen assets, and handling them in insolvency or estate cases," CryptoUK added.
Digital Assets Now Classified as Personal Property
CryptoUK highlighted that the bill confirms that "digital or electronic ‘things’ can be objects of personal property rights."
UK law traditionally categorizes personal property into two types: "things in possession," which are tangible assets like a car, and "things in action," which are intangible rights, such as the ability to enforce a contract.
The bill clarifies that a digital or electronic item is not excluded from personal property rights simply because it doesn't fit neatly into the "thing in possession" or "thing in action" categories.
The Law Commission's 2024 report had argued that digital assets could possess qualities of both types of property, and that their ambiguous classification under existing property rights laws could complicate legal dispute resolutions.
New Law Provides Enhanced Clarity for Crypto Users
CryptoUK expressed on X that the new law offers "greater clarity and protection for consumers and investors," providing crypto holders with the same level of confidence and certainty they expect from other forms of property.
The group further stated that digital assets can now be clearly owned, recovered in instances of theft or fraud, and integrated into insolvency and estate proceedings.
CryptoUK emphasized that the UK now possesses a "clear legal basis for ownership and transfer" of crypto assets, positioning the country to better support the development of new financial products, tokenized real-world assets, and more secure digital markets.
Recent findings from the UK's finance authority indicated that approximately 12% of UK adults own cryptocurrency, an increase from 10% in previous reports.
In April, the UK also unveiled plans for a comprehensive crypto regulatory regime. This initiative aims to bring crypto businesses under rules similar to those governing other financial companies, with the objective of establishing the UK as a "global hub" for crypto while simultaneously promoting consumer protection.