The British government has submitted a bill to define crypto assets such as NFTs and tokenized RWAs as personal property

The UK government has submitted a bill to Parliament that seeks to clarify the legal status of digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, NFTs and tokenized RWAs, which will be defined as personal property under UK law. The proposed legislation provides guidelines for the legal profession in cases involving ownership disputes such as divorce, and provides protection for cryptocurrency owners affected by fraud or scams. The bill introduces a new category of property, going beyond the existing categories of "possessions" (such as money and cars) and "movables" (such as debts and shares). Attorney General Heidi Alexander said the new category would allow specific digital assets to be recognized as personal property. "This will provide greater clarity and security for people who hold digital assets," Alexander said. Earlier this year, the Law Commission, which advises on legal reforms in England and Wales, published a consultation report on draft legislation to classify cryptocurrencies as property. The commission's report concluded that some digital assets do not fit neatly into the categories of "possessions" or "movables", but should still be considered capable of acquiring personal property rights under English and Welsh law. Interestingly, this comes shortly after the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) reported that 87% of cryptocurrency companies that applied for licenses under the country's anti-money laundering rules failed to be approved in the latest fiscal year. According to the FCA's annual report, only four of the 35 applications received in the 12 months ending March 31 were qualified. Successful applicants included Binance's payment partner BNXA, PayPal's UK subsidiary, and Nomura's cryptocurrency custody joint venture Komainu. The remaining applications were rejected or withdrawn due to the lack of necessary elements. Since assuming regulatory responsibility for cryptocurrency companies under anti-money laundering regulations in 2020, the FCA has received 359 applications, but has only granted money laundering registrations to 44 companies. (FinanceFeeds)