Digital Assets (Scotland) Bill

Overview

The Economy and Fair Work Committee is seeking views on the Digital Assets (Scotland) Bill.

Those views will inform the Committee’s scrutiny.

The call for views and analysis aim to help the Committee understand if the Bill’s aims are likely to achieve their intended impact.

About this call for views

The Scottish Government introduced the Bill on 30 September 2025.

The overarching policy objective of the Bill is to clarify that digital assets, as defined in the Bill, can be owned as property.

In recent decades, the use and importance of digital assets has become widespread. There is, however, little case law relating to new forms of digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, to help individuals, businesses and legal practitioners in their dealings with such assets.

The Bill aims to do three things: 

Confirm that digital assets – as defined in the Bill – can be categorised as “incorporeal moveable property” in Scots law.
Set out rules for establishing ownership of this type of digital asset and how ownership can be voluntarily transferred.
Confirm that the general principles of Scots law apply to this type of digital asset.

Who we would like to hear from

We welcome responses from a wide range of individuals and organisations, including:

Members of the public
Public bodies
Legal bodies
Academics/think tanks
Any other stakeholders with an interest in digital assets.

How to contribute

We would strongly prefer responses to be submitted through CitizenSpace. Please answer the call for views by completing the submission form at the end of this page.

Please contact the committee clerks economyandfairwork.committee@parliament.scot if you are unable to submit your response online. 

We welcome written views in English, Gaelic, Scots or any other language.

You can also give your views to the Committee in a BSL video. If you send a video, we will arrange for a translation and pay for this. You can send a video through a file transfer service such as WeTransfer, or upload to YouTube and share it as a private link with us by email.

Watch our BSL users guide

Questions in this call for views Questions in this call for views

Does the definition of digital asset in the Bill meet the criteria of being technologically neutral and not too prescriptive? Do you have any suggested improvements?
What types of digital asset might be captured by the definition, both now and in the future? And are there wider implications for society to giving these legal recognition?
The transfer provisions in the Bill favour an acquirer in good faith (someone who is not aware of any problems with the asset they are acquiring) over the actual owner of a digital asset. Is this justified? Are there alternative approaches which could better balance the interests of acquirers and owners?
Do the provisions in the Bill create a framework for identifying and dealing with digital assets which is workable for businesses involved in this sector?
Is there a need for wider reform to Scots law to enable disputes involving digital assets to be dealt with fairly?
What other work is needed to enable the benefits of digital assets to be more widely realised across Scottish society?
Should the Bill contain any mechanisms to monitor its impact and allow for changes to be made in the future?

Analysis

The Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) will prepare a summary and analysis of responses.

Confidentiality and publication of responses

Our privacy notice on submissions explains how we will process evidence sent to the Committee, and your personal information.

Read the privacy notice.

The call for views closes on Wednesday 12 November 2025.

Submit your views

Complete the submission form

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