The UK government has introduced a bill to parliament that aims to formally define digital assets as a new form of property. If passed, it would give owners of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies legal protection, the bill's authors said.
The bill will protect asset owners and crypto firms from fraud and scams, the report said, and will help resolve cases in which digital assets are contested or are part of a settlement.
According to the document, there are two categories of property in the UK: “things in possession” (for example, gold, money, cars) and “things in circulation” (loans, shares). If MPs pass the bill, the country will have a third type of property that “will allow certain digital assets to attract personal property rights,” Justice Minister Heidi Alexander said.
“The bill will help the UK maintain its leading position in the emerging global cryptocurrency race by becoming one of the first countries to recognise these assets at the legislative level,” the document notes.
It is expected that not only cryptocurrencies, but also other digital assets, such as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and tokenised real-world assets (RWAs), could gain legal status in the UK.
