#DigitalAssetBill

Overview

This brief bill clarifies that certain digital assets, such as crypto tokens, can be recognized as property, even if they do not fit into the two traditional categories of personal property under English and Welsh law.

This will help provide certainty and protection to individuals and businesses that own and transact with these assets.

What does the bill do?

The bill confirms that certain digital assets, such as crypto tokens, can attract property rights even if they do not fit into the two traditional categories of personal property under English and Welsh law (see details in the policy context section below).

In this way, the bill responds to technological advances so that individuals and businesses using these assets have appropriate legal protection. This will yield practical benefits (which are detailed below).

This bill deliberately omits which digital assets are included in the "third category" of personal property rights or how the law will treat them. Instead, these details will be developed by the courts, which will be able to address issues on a case-by-case basis. This is preferable to establishing strict rules in legislation, which would have less responsiveness to new circumstances and technological advances. The law of personal property has always been developed by the courts through common law, rather than through legislation. The bill supports this established approach.

by: The Crown