PANews reported on December 3 that the UK has officially included crypto assets (such as cryptocurrencies and stablecoins) as property under legal protection. On Tuesday, Lord Speaker John McFall announced that the Property (Digital Assets, etc.) Bill had received royal assent from King Charles and is now law. Based on the recommendations of the Law Commission of England and Wales in 2024, the bill explicitly classifies crypto assets as a new form of personal property.
This move provides a clearer legal basis for digital assets, particularly in areas such as proof of ownership, recovery of stolen assets, and bankruptcy or estate settlement. CryptoUK points out that the bill recognizes that “things” in digital or electronic form can be objects of personal property rights, even if they do not fall under the traditional categories of “physical property” or “debt property.”
Industry insiders say this change provides greater clarity and protection for consumers and investors, while laying the foundation for supporting new financial products, tokenized physical assets, and a more secure digital market. The UK had previously planned to launch a crypto regulatory framework aimed at integrating crypto businesses into a similar regulatory system as other financial companies, thus propelling it to become a global crypto hub.
