- Cryptocurrencies will be considered personal property in the UK if this law is approved
- Parliament has received a new bill recognizing cryptocurrencies, NFTs and others as property
- The legislative proposal seeks to clarify the legal status of assets such as Bitcoin under British law
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Cryptocurrencies will now be treated as personal property in the UK.
The UK government has introduced a new bill to Parliament that seeks to clarify the legal status of digital currencies and will allow these assets to be treated as personal property under British law for the first time.
The UK Ministry of Justice announced in a statement on Wednesday that the Digital Asset Ownership Bill has been introduced to the legislature. The legislation covers not only Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, but also all types of blockchain- based assets including non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and real-world tokenized assets.
The law “ will mean that, for the first time in British history, digital holdings, including cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens such as digital art and carbon credits, can be considered personal property under the law ,” the authority said.
Once enacted, the regulation will give the legal profession guidelines to follow when there is a dispute over ownership related to such assets, such as during a divorce. It will also provide protection to cryptocurrency owners, whether individuals or companies, who are hit by theft, scams, fraud and more.
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, the statement said.
British law provides for two categories of property, “things in possession” (e.g. gold, money, cars) and “things in action” (e.g. debts, shares), the Ministry explained. “This bill introduces a third category of “thing” to allow certain digital assets to attract personal property rights,” it detailed.
The proposal comes after the Law Commission, which reviews and recommends changes to laws in England and Wales, published a consultation earlier this year on draft legislation to label cryptocurrencies as property. This consultation was followed by a report with the findings, as CoinDesk recalls.
“It is essential that the law keeps pace with evolving technologies and this legislation will mean that the sector can maintain its position as a global leader in cryptoassets and bring clarity to complex ownership cases,” added Justice Minister Heidi Alexander in today’s statement.
Other jurisdictions around the world such as China, Hong Kong and Singapore have also recognized cryptocurrencies as property as a result of separate court cases, as Market Times has previously reported.
