The UK government has introduced a bill to Parliament seeking to formally define crypto assets, including non-fungible tokens and real-world assets, as property.
“Previously, digital belongings were not definitively included in the scope of English and Welsh property law – leaving owners in a legal grey area if their assets were interfered with,” Heidi Alexander MP, Minister of State at the Ministry of Justice, wrote in a press release published on Wednesday.
Describing the bill as a “first” for “British history,” the ministry notes there are currently two categories of property in the country: “things in possession” (e.g., gold, money, cars) and “things in action” (e.g., debts, shares). The law, if passed, would introduce a third kind of property “to allow for certain digital assets to attract personal property rights.”
Alexander particularly notes the bill was drafted to maintain Britain’s “pole position in the emerging global crypto race” and attract more businesses and investments. According to the press release, digital assets bring in £34 billion a year to the UK economy.
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Like many other nations, Britain has had a back-and-forth relationship with the crypto industry, with some high-ranking officials like former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak signaling his desire to turn the island nation into a digital asset hub while agencies like the main regulatory body, the Financial Conduct Authority, frequently issue warnings against investing in the asset class.
The ministry notes the bill was written in response to the Law Commission’s 2023 report that found digital assets are neither things in possession nor things in action, though should nevertheless be treated as property.
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