UK law now recognises digital assets as personal “property”, like a debt or a physical asset. Digital assets previously did not fit traditional categories, which created uncertainty in ownership, custody and collateralisation.
The Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025, based closely on Law Commission recommendations concerning the law of personal property and its application to digital assets, has completed its passage through Parliament and received Royal Assent on 2 December 2025.
The recognition of digital assets as property that can be owned, transferred and seized enables banks to take security interests over tokens and using tokenised assets in repo, derivatives margining and securities lending. It also allows for tokenised money market mutual funds, tokenised treasuries and tokenised deposits to qualify for institutional collateral frameworks once operational and regulatory conditions are met.
