The UK Parliament’s House of Lords has completed report stage scrutiny of the Property (Digital Assets etc.) Bill, concluding its further examination of the draft law. The bill is intended to clarify that things can be property even if they do not meet traditional case-law definitions, creating clearer legal footing for digital assets to be capable of attracting property rights. The bill is framed to support the treatment of assets such as crypto-tokens, crypto-currency and non-fungible tokens as potentially capable of property rights, while stopping short of declaring that any specific category of thing is property. Amendments raised at report stage covered recognising digital assets as property, introducing codes of practice on the attributes of digital assets that may confer property rights, and requiring a review of the impact of treating digital assets as property by virtue of the Act. Third reading, described as the final chance to amend the bill, is scheduled for 8 May.
UK Parliament 2025-05-01
UK Parliament House of Lords completes report stage scrutiny of the Property Digital Assets etc Bill
The UK Parliament's House of Lords has completed the report stage scrutiny of the Property (Digital Assets etc.) Bill, aimed at clarifying the legal status of digital assets as property. The bill supports treating assets like crypto-tokens and non-fungible tokens as potentially capable of property rights, without declaring any specific category as property. Amendments discussed include codes of practice for digital assets and a review of the impact of treating them as property.