On 2 December 2025, the <span class="news-text_italic-underline">Property (Digital Assets etc) Bill</span> received Royal Assent and came into force as the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/29/enacted" target="_blank" class="news-text_link">Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025</a>. The Bill completed its passage through Parliament following its third reading in the House of Commons without further amendment.
The Act addresses a long-recognised limitation in the common law classification of personal property. Traditionally, personal property has been divided into two categories: things in possession, generally tangible items; and things in action, being rights enforceable only through legal proceedings such as debts or contractual rights. The Act confirms that a thing, including one that is digital or electronic in nature, is not prevented from being the subject of personal property rights simply because it does not fall within either of those categories.
Importantly, the Act does not attempt to define exhaustively what constitutes property nor does it prescribe the legal consequences of recognising a digital asset as property. Instead, it preserves the application of established common law tests, allowing the courts to continue determining property status on a case-by-case basis. In doing so, the Act facilitates the incremental development of the common law in response to technological change.
The Act offers several practical benefits. It clarifies that digital assets such as crypto-tokens are capable of attracting property rights despite their atypical characteristics. It is also expected to reduce litigation by removing the preliminary need to argue whether an asset falls within the traditional categories of personal property. More broadly, the reforms enhance the attractiveness of England, Wales and Northern Ireland as jurisdictions for transacting in and resolving disputes relating to crypto-assets and other digital assets.
Overall, the Act provides greater certainty for individuals and businesses that own, use or transact with digital assets while preserving judicial flexibility in this rapidly evolving area of law.
