#DigitalAssetBill This draft bill confirms that certain digital assets – such as crypto tokens – can attract ownership rights even if they do not fall within the 2 traditional categories of personal property in English and Welsh law (please see details in the policy context section below).

By doing so, this draft bill responds to technological developments so that individuals and businesses using these assets have appropriate legal protections. This will bring practical benefits to those individuals and businesses (explained below).

This draft bill deliberately does not specify which digital assets fall within the "third category" of personal ownership or how the law will treat them. Instead, these details will be developed by the courts, which can address the issues on a case-by-case basis. This is preferred to establishing strict rules in legislation, which would be less able to respond flexibly to new circumstances and technological developments. Personal property law has always been developed by the courts through our common law rather than in legislation. This draft bill supports this established approach.