New UK Law: Recognizing Crypto as Personal Property
- King Charles III gave his approval to the UK’s new Property (Digital Assets etc.) Act 2025, which is now law.
- This law puts cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and other digital assets in a third category of personal property, along with physical items and intellectual rights.
- Owners can now legally inherit, get back, or fight over digital assets in court, which clears up a lot of confusion that has been around for a long time.
- The UK is now a leader in regulating cryptocurrencies, which could bring in more investment from around the world.
The UK has made a brave move toward digital finance. The Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025 officially became law on December 3, 2025. This was a big deal for people who use and invest in cryptocurrency. This short but important bill makes it clear for the first time that digital assets are personal property.
Before this law, UK courts had a hard time figuring out what to do with digital assets in cases like hacks or inheritances. The new law makes a “third category” of property that is different from physical things (like cars) and things that aren’t physical (like copyrights). This means that if someone steals your crypto, you have a better chance of getting it back through the legal system.
It treats crypto like any other thing you own, in simple terms. Judges no longer had to make up decisions based on property laws from hundreds of years ago that weren’t clear.
The bill was first brought up in September 2024 as part of efforts to bring UK property laws up to date for the digital age. It went through Parliament quickly, which shows that more people are supporting crypto as it becomes more popular around the world. King Charles III gave his royal approval today, making the UK one of the first major economies to officially recognize this.
This is in line with what the UK’s Law Commission said, which was that the country could fall behind in the digital economy if there weren’t clear rules. This is a win for clarity, but it doesn’t solve all the problems with cryptocurrencies, like taxes or anti-money laundering. Those problems are still covered by different rules.
