UK Jurisdiction Taskforce Publishes Report On Control Of Digital Assets

The report explains how the legal concept of control applies to digital assets under English law.

The UK Jurisdiction Taskforce (UKJT) has published a Report on Control of Digital Assets, which provides non-binding guidance on the complex and evolving ways in which factual control can be exercised over digital assets. The guidance is intended to assist a non-technical audience (the judiciary and court users) when considering how legal principles can be applied in this context.

Why does control matter?

In 2023, the Law Commission published its Final Report on Digital Assets, in which it concluded that certain digital assets (such as cryptocurrencies and NFTs) do not fit comfortably within either of the traditional legal categories of "things in possession" or "things in action". Nevertheless, such assets (referred to as "third category" digital assets) still require proprietary protection. 

The report therefore recommended that legislation be introduced to confirm and support the existing common law position by providing that a thing will not be deprived of legal status as an object of personal property rights merely because it falls outside the two traditional categories. In 2024, the Law Commission published a consultation on draft legislation, which we discussed in a previous blog post.

As a result, in December 2025, the Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025 (the Act) came into force, which provides that:

"A thing (including a thing that is digital or electronic in nature) is not prevented from being the object of personal property rights merely because it is neither—

1. a thing in possession, nor
2. a thing in action."

As the UKJT's Report notes, the ability to exclude or permit access to a thing is fundamental to a property right. Historically, this ability has been identified by reference to the concept of possession. Digital assets cannot be physically possessed, however, and so the Law Commission described control as the factual concept that best captures this ability in the case of digital assets. However, it did not consider that the concept of control should be defined by statute – just as the concept of possession is not defined – leaving it to the common law to develop jurisprudence concerning control that can be applied to digital objects in a flexible and nuanced manner, and in response to market developments and legal challenges.

Appreciating the importance of the concept of control, and the potential difficulties for the courts in making complex findings of fact where control works differently for different third category things and different technological implementations, the Law Commission recommended that a panel of experts, academics and judges be established to provide non-binding guidance on the evolving factual issues relating to control of third category digital assets. 

As a result, the UKJT established the "Control Panel" (chaired by Lord Justice Zacaroli) which has produced the current Report. The purpose of the Report is said to be to "provide guidance on the range of ways in which digital assets are controlled in practice in order to assist in the identification of the legal or equitable owner(s) of digital assets or of an interest in them and to remove impediments to the adoption of new technologies."

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.