Scotland Passes Digital Assets Bill Recognising Crypto as Property, March 2026

On 5 March 2026, the Scottish Parliament passed the Digital Assets (Scotland) Bill at Stage 3 by a unanimous vote of 114 for, 0 against, and 0 abstentions, making Scotland the first part of the United Kingdom to legislate expressly that digital assets — including cryptocurrency — constitute property under Scots private law. The Bill now awaits Royal Assent before it becomes an Act of the Scottish Parliament.

The Bill's operative provisions confirm that certain digital assets can be objects of property under Scots private law, clarify the rules for acquiring and owning those assets, and direct that general principles of Scots private law apply to them. Introduced to Parliament on 30 September 2025 as a Scottish Government bill, the legislation passed Stage 1 on 22 January 2026, completed Stage 2 amendments on 18 February 2026, and cleared Stage 3 on 5 March 2026 under motion reference S6M-20944 lodged by Minister for Business Richard Lochhead.

For cryptocurrency holders, DeFi protocol operators, digital asset custodians, and tokenised asset issuers whose dealings are governed by Scots law, the Bill removes critical legal uncertainty. Before enactment, no Scottish court had ruled on whether digital assets qualify as property, leaving owners, lenders, and counterparties without clear recourse in disputes over ownership, security interests, or transfers. Once Royal Assent is granted, parties will have a firm property-law foundation to grant and enforce security over crypto holdings, pursue proprietary claims in insolvency, and structure custody arrangements under recognised Scots law principles.

The Bill's transfer provisions favour a good-faith acquirer over the original owner of a digital asset — an approach debated during the parliamentary process but retained as passed. The Bill applies to Scots private law only and does not alter regulatory requirements applicable to crypto-asset service providers under UK financial services legislation, which are being developed by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2025 laid before UK Parliament in December 2025. Royal Assent timing has not been announced and depends on the standard process.

Source: Digital Assets (Scotland) Bill as passed, Scottish Parliament, Session 6, Stage 3, motion S6M-20944, 5 March 2026. Official bill page and bill as passed document available at: https://www.parliament.scot/bills-and-laws/bills/s6/digital-assets-scotland-bill. Confirmed 13 March 2026.

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