On 2 December 2025, the Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025 (the Act) received royal assent and came into force, marking a milestone in the legal recognition of digital assets in the UK.
Background
The Act implements recommendations from the Law Commission confirming in statute the common law position that certain digital assets can constitute property. This legislative development provides clarity and certainty for the digital asset industry.
This statutory confirmation addresses a gap in traditional property law, which historically recognised only two categories of personal property. These are things in possession (tangible items that can be physically possessed) and things in action (intangible rights enforceable through legal action). Digital assets, such as cryptoassets, often did not fit neatly into either category, creating uncertainty about their legal status.
The Act now provides that a thing including a digital or electronic in nature will not be deprived of legal status as an object of personal property rights merely because it is neither a thing in action nor a thing in possession.
The Act follows extensive work by the Law Commission, which published detailed reports on the legal status of digital assets.
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