Overview
- The Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025 received Royal Assent on December 2, with Lord Speaker John McFall announcing the approval in the House of Lords.
- The law applies across England, Wales and Northern Ireland and confirms that digital or electronic items can attract personal property rights.
- It establishes a third category beyond things in possession and things in action, supporting inheritance treatment, insolvency processes and theft recovery.
- Parliament followed Law Commission recommendations, and industry groups such as CryptoUK and Bitcoin Policy UK welcomed the clarity for consumers and institutions.
- The reform sits within a wider policy push that includes platform reporting requirements from January 1 per the 2025 Budget, a Bank of England consultation on a sterling stablecoin regime, and government consideration of banning crypto donations to political parties.