UK takes ‘massive step forward,’ passing property laws for crypto

The UK has passed the Property (Digital Assets etc) Bill into law, granting royal assent from King Charles, which officially treats digital assets such as cryptocurrencies and stablecoins as property. Advocacy groups like Bitcoin Policy UK hailed this as a "massive step forward." While common law previously treated digital assets as property through case-by-case judgments, this new Act codifies a 2024 recommendation from the Law Commission of England and Wales, giving digital assets a much clearer legal footing. The law confirms that digital or electronic 'things' can be objects of personal property rights, clarifying that they are not excluded just because they don't fit neatly into existing categories like 'thing in possession' (tangible) or 'thing in action' (intangible). This legislative change is expected to provide greater clarity and protection for consumers and investors, making it easier to prove ownership, recover stolen assets, and handle crypto in insolvency or estate cases. CryptoUK noted that this establishes a clear legal basis for ownership and transfer, positioning the UK better to support the growth of tokenized real-world assets and secure digital markets.

(Source：Cointelegraph)