Crypto officially becomes a “third category” of property, fixing the fatal flaw in digital asset ownership.
UK law now recognizes digital assets as a distinct third category of personal property, resolving prior ownership ambiguities.Summary
The UK has enacted legislation granting Royal Assent that establishes digital and electronic assets as a standalone, third category of personal property in English law, alongside "things in possession" (physical goods) and "things in action" (claims). This resolves the long-standing issue where crypto assets did not cleanly fit into existing categories, which caused doctrinal limbo and procedural bottlenecks in areas like collateralization, insolvency, and tracing stolen assets. While the Act does not create a bespoke regulatory regime or grant special rights, it provides a statutory anchor that simplifies legal remedies, making processes smoother for victims of hacks and providing a firmer legal basis for lending and custody arrangements. This clarification is expected to underpin the UK's future crypto-market design, especially concerning the Bank of England's stablecoin consultation, giving the UK the cleanest statutory recognition of digital property among major Western jurisdictions.
(Source：CryptoSlate)