UK Officially Classifies Crypto as Property in New Digital Assets Act
In a landmark decision that many in the crypto world have long awaited, the Property (Digital Assets) Act 2025, also referred to as the New Digital Assets Act, has received Royal Assent, formally enshrining digital assets such as cryptocurrencies as property under UK law.
What the new law says
The Act updates centuries-old property legislation to reflect modern realities. Under traditional English and Welsh law, personal property was divided into two categories:
- “Things in possession” are physical, tangible items (like a car or a piece of jewelry), and
- “Things in action” are intangible rights enforceable through legal processes (like debts or contractual claims).
However, many digital assets, including crypto tokens, stablecoins, NFTs, and other electronic-only assets, do not fit comfortably into either category. The new Act establishes a third category: digital or electronic “things.” Specifically, it allows a “thing (including a thing that is digital or electronic in nature)” to be treated as personal property, even if it is neither a “thing in possession” nor a “thing in action.”
Crucially, the law does not guarantee that every type of digital asset is property automatically. Instead, it lays the legal foundation, enabling courts to assess on a case-by-case basis whether a given digital asset meets established criteria for property (e.g., definability, identifiability, transferability, permanence).
Why this matters and what changes
- Legal clarity and certainty: Until now, digital-asset ownership largely depended on piecemeal judicial decisions. The new Act codifies the principle in statute, giving owners and businesses clearer confidence around owning, trading, and securing digital assets.
- Ownership protections: With property status, digital assets become legitimate objects for ownership claims, enabling recovery in cases of theft or fraud, inclusion in insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings, and clear treatment in inheritance and estate planning.
- Boost for institutional and business adoption: The law reduces regulatory uncertainty, which can encourage financial institutions, fintech firms, and traditional businesses to engage more confidently with cryptocurrencies and tokenized assets. Observers have described it as a “massive step” for digital-asset legitimacy.
- Flexibility for future innovation: By leaving room for courts to interpret which digital assets qualify as property, the statute remains adaptable. This approach helps the law keep pace with evolving technologies, including NFTs, tokenized real-world assets, and potential new asset types.
Reactions from the crypto and legal communities
Advocacy and industry groups welcomed the move. For example, CryptoUK said the law gives digital-asset holders “greater clarity and protection,” enabling them to recover assets lost to theft or fraud and to treat their holdings with the same seriousness as traditional property.
Similarly, Bitcoin Policy UK described the Act as potentially “the biggest change in English property law since the Middle Ages.”
Legal experts note that while common-law courts in the UK had already treated certain crypto-tokens as property in individual cases, the new Act removes ambiguity and lays a statutory foundation to guide future cases and disputes.
Limitations and what’s still to come
That said, the Act does not itself declare that every digital asset or even every cryptocurrency is property. Rather, it gives courts the authority to determine, on a case-by-case basis, whether a specific token or asset qualifies.
Additionally, the Act currently applies to England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Under the statute’s extension, it covers those jurisdictions, while Scotland remains under a separate legal process; its treatment of digital assets will follow Scottish law.
What this means globally
With the passage of the Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025, the UK has become one of the first major jurisdictions to enshrine formally in statute that cryptocurrencies and other digital assets can legally be property. Many observers expect this to influence other countries’ regulatory debates and to accelerate institutional adoption of crypto globally. Analysts describe the move as “reshaping the global digital asset landscape.”
Conclusion
By officially classifying crypto as property, the UK has moved beyond regulatory indecision and case-by-case ambiguity, offering a stable, statutory foundation for the age of digital assets. For investors, companies, lawyers, and ordinary crypto holders alike, the new law brings long-overdue clarity, security, and a firmer legal footing. As the courts begin to apply it to real-world cases, the full implications will become clearer, but today marks a major milestone for the legal recognition of cryptocurrencies.
This article was originally published as UK Officially Classifies Crypto as Property in New Digital Assets Act on Crypto Breaking News – your trusted source for crypto news, Bitcoin news, and blockchain updates.
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