Legal News | 18.12.25

All I want for Christmas is Crypto

According to a recent survey, 45% of Gen Z Americans would love to unwrap gifts of cryptocurrency this Christmas morning. If you are lucky enough to receive cryptocurrency for Christmas, or already own it, you may be interested in The Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025, which received Royal Assent on 2 December.

What is the Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025?

Under English law, property has traditionally been divided into two broad categories. First, ‘things in possession’ that are physical property and, second, ‘things in action’ which must be claimed through litigation. Following the meteoric rise of cryptoassets, it became increasingly clear that these types of assets didn’t fall neatly into either category of property.

As a result, the Law Commission for England and Wales recommended in 2023 that legislation be enacted to make it clear that digital assets could be the object of personal property rights. The passing of the Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025 provides for a new category of property or, more specifically, provides that “a thing (including a thing that is digital or electronic in nature) is not prevented from being the object of personal property because it is neither a thing in possession, nor a thing in action”.

Importantly, however, the Act does not opine on what types of digital asset (an expression which can unhelpfully be used to cover various types of digital property) fall within this new third category.

Digital Assets and Estate Planning

The Act has implications for various areas of law, including private clients. Whether something can be the object of personal property rights is relevant to the law of succession, for example. If you are considering gifting or succession planning with your own digital assets and require specialist advice, speak to the Private Client team at Wansbroughs.