The British House of Lords has announced that the Property (Digital Assets etc.) Bill has received royal assent, meaning King Charles has formally approved it and it has now become law.
The legislation confirms that digital holdings, including Bitcoin and stablecoins, can be recognized as property, distinct from traditional categories of physical objects or contractual rights. While UK common law, shaped through judicial decisions, has already treated digital assets as property, the bill codifies a recommendation from the Law Commission of England and Wales in 2024 to formally categorize cryptocurrency as a new form of personal property, providing greater clarity for courts and market participants.
Under UK law, personal property is traditionally divided into two types: “things in possession,” which are tangible assets such as cars, and “things in action,” which are intangible rights, like the ability to enforce a contract. The new document clarifies that digital or electronic assets do not fall outside the realm of personal property merely because they are neither strictly tangible nor conventional intangible rights.
The Law Commission argued that digital assets can possess characteristics of both categories, and that their ambiguous classification could impede dispute resolution in courts.
With the bill now in force, the UK establishes a clear legal basis for the ownership and transfer of cryptocurrencies.
Lawmakers argue this will better position the country to support the growth of new financial products, tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), and more secure digital markets.
CryptoUK, the nation’s first cryptocurrency and blockchain trade association, highlighted in a post on X that UK courts have already been treating cryptocurrencies as property on a case-by-case basis. The formal codification of these rights, they noted, provides clearer legal pathways for handling crypto-related crimes, litigation, and asset recovery.
The Royal Assent to the Property (Digital Assets etc) Bill was formally announced in the chamber of the House of Lords at around 2:30pm today, which means it has now become an Act of Parliament.
— CryptoUK
UK courts have already treated digital assets as property, but that was all through…(@CryptoUKAssoc) December 2, 2025
“This gives digital assets a much clearer legal footing—especially for proving ownership, recovering stolen assets, and handling them in insolvency or estate cases,” CryptoUK wrote.
Globally, laws and regulations around cryptocurrencies and digital assets have been evolving fast, reflecting the growing adoption of blockchain technology and the rising importance of digital property in the economy. Governments and courts are increasingly clarifying how digital assets should be treated under existing legal frameworks, with many formally recognizing them as a form of property.
Just this October, India’s Madras High Court issued a landmark ruling declaring that cryptocurrency qualifies as “property” under Indian law, allowing it to be owned, held in trust, and protected under fiduciary and property frameworks. Armenia’s updated in 2025 “On Cryptoassets” law similarly treats cryptocurrencies as digital property, granting full legal recognition for holding, trading, and custody, though they are not considered legal tender.
Singapore courts, meanwhile, have recognized digital assets as property capable of being held in trust for over two years, affirming that cryptocurrencies meet the legal definition of property under trust law. Apart from that, Australian legislation and court precedents classify cryptocurrencies as property for criminal law, asset recovery, and civil protection purposes.
The formal recognition of digital assets as property in the UK adds to a growing global trend toward integrating cryptocurrencies into established legal and financial frameworks, offering investors, businesses, and regulators clearer guidance and stronger legal protections.
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