A new U.K. law confirms the possibility of recognizing digital assets as personal property, though the future effectiveness of the reforms depends on the industry’s engagement.
The United Kingdom formally established the ability to recognize digital assets as objects of personal property by adopting the Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025, which came into force on December 2, 2025. The law lays the groundwork for further crypto market regulation, but industry experts emphasize that for the country to claim a leading position, regulators need more active support from the sector.
The enacted law states that digital or electronic objects can be full-fledged objects of personal property rights, even if they’re neither possessable things nor things subject to a claim. The act applies to England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
This decision eliminates one of the key legal gaps that hindered the development of the digital economy and the judicial protection of digital asset owners’ rights.
The Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025 creates a legal framework that will:
- facilitate judicial protection for digital asset owners;
- support the formation of a market where cryptocurrencies and tokenized assets are recognized as equal forms of property;
- accelerate the development of regulation for stablecoins and crypto-asset operations.
Despite the significance of this legislative step, the U.K.’s broader work on building a comprehensive regulatory framework is only beginning. According to industry trade association CryptoUK, the country has a real opportunity to form a world-leading system for regulating crypto-assets and stablecoins. However, they believe this can only be achieved with consolidated participation from the industry itself.
CryptoUK notes that without coordinated action, the market risks losing ground to jurisdictions that are moving faster or acting more cohesively. The association, which unites more than 100 industry organizations, stated its readiness to represent the sector’s position in dialogue with regulators and support the development of a competitive and innovative digital economy in the U.K.
Given the Bank of England’s initiative on stablecoins, with public consultations open until February 2026, and the increasing regulatory activity from the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the quality of feedback from industry representatives will be key in shaping the rules.
