Property (Digital Assets etc) Bill

What's changing
25 Oct 2024
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The draft Property (Digital Assets etc) Bill confirms that digital assets can be the object of property rights in England and Wales.

The proposals

Digital assets are being used for a growing variety of purposes in commerce and society. The draft Property (Digital Assets etc) Bill [HL] seeks to remove residual legal uncertainty around the property rights attaching to digital assets.

The bill confirms that common law can continue recognising the existence of a third category of personal property right.

This third category is capable of accommodating non-traditional categories of personal property such as:

  • digital assets, including crypto-tokens, and
  • potentially other assets such as voluntary carbon credits

The bill does not aim to confirm the property status of any particular digital assets. The common law will be responsible for defining the precise parameters for describing whether any particular digital asset is capable of being an object of property rights.

The government is also taking forward the Law Commission’s recommendation to establish of a panel of industry experts. This expert panel will produce non-binding guidance on technical and legal issues around digital assets.

The bill is currently progressing through stages in the House of Lords and is not yet in effect. After the bill receives royal assent, digital assets will attract personal property rights.

Find out more about:

Our view

We welcome this bill because it will officially recognise that digital assets can be considered property by law. 

The draft bill follows the Law Commission's recommendations, which we supported in our consultation response. 

We expect the final bill to:

  • create better legal clarity around digital assets by reinforcing current practices established by court rulings
  • offer additional protections and strengthen the legal standing of digital assets in England and Wales as they continue to grow in importance

We hope the final bill will: 

  • drive innovation and growth, leading to more predictable outcomes in legal cases
  • benefit victims of crypto fraud and theft and creditors in insolvency proceedings

Next steps

Become knowledgeable about digital assets to advise your clients accurately and per the expert group’s non-binding guidance. 

Use resources such as:

Be prepared for new legal disputes involving digital assets and their:

  • ownership
  • transfer
  • associated rights

What's changing

Share your experiences with digital assets

Tell us about your experiences with clients and digital assets by contacting governance@lawsociety.org.uk.

 

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