The UK crypto property law now gives digital assets in the UK a clear legal status as personal property.
The Property (Digital Assets etc) Act received royal assent from King Charles on December 2, 2025. From that date, UK digital asset regulation formally covers cryptocurrencies and stablecoins as a defined class of personal property.
Under the Property Digital Assets Act, assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, stablecoins and tokenized instruments no longer sit in a legal grey zone.
Courts can treat them as objects of personal property rights instead of forcing them into older categories built for physical goods or pure debt claims.
Lord Speaker John McFall announced the royal assent in the House of Lords. He noted that the law follows the 2024 recommendation from the Law Commission of England and Wales, which called for a statutory category for digital assets.
That recommendation pushed lawmakers to move from case-by-case court recognition to a single, explicit statute.
This step means UK crypto property law now gives judges, lawyers and market participants one reference point for digital assets.
It brings Bitcoin in the UK, along with other major tokens, under a clear property label rather than scattered interpretations.
Property Digital Assets Act Creates Third Category for Bitcoin Property Status
Before the Property Digital Assets Act, courts in England and Wales had already accepted that crypto could count as property.
Judges granted remedies in disputes involving hacked wallets, misdirected transfers or frozen balances.
However, those outcomes relied on legal reasoning built on older property concepts, not on a dedicated digital-assets statute.
The new UK crypto property law creates a third category of property for digital assets. Traditional law divides property into physical things and rights against a person, such as debts.
The act adds a digital class that covers assets recorded in systems like blockchains. As a result, Bitcoin property status now rests on a specific statutory category, not only on analogy.
This structure affects how courts handle proof of ownership. When a party claims that a certain on-chain address or wallet balance belongs to them, judges can use the framework set by UK digital asset regulation to assess that claim as a property question.
It also clarifies how to approach recovery of stolen or misdirected assets, where tracing and restitution depend on recognizing the tokens as property.
The Property Digital Assets Act also matters in insolvency cases. If an exchange, custodian or company that holds client crypto fails, courts must decide whether those assets sit inside or outside the firm’s own estate.
With digital assets treated as a separate property class, judges have a clearer route to classify holdings and apply existing insolvency rules.
Industry body CryptoUK has stressed that this legal clarity can strengthen protection for holders of digital assets in the UK.
The group points to the role of precise property rules in designing custody arrangements, record-keeping standards and dispute processes.
“The bill becoming law is a massive step forward for Bitcoin in the United Kingdom and for everyone who holds and uses it here.”
— Freddie New, Policy Chief at Bitcoin Policy UK
That statement highlights how advocates of Bitcoin in the UK view the formal Bitcoin property status created by the act.
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Tatevik Avetisyan is an editor at Kriptoworld who covers emerging crypto trends, blockchain innovation, and altcoin developments. She is passionate about breaking down complex stories for a global audience and making digital finance more accessible.
📅 Published: December 3, 2025 • 🕓 Last updated: December 3, 2025
