Meeting of the Parliament 22 January 2026
I thank everyone who has been involved in the scrutiny of the bill. Like the convener, I thank in particular the bill team—a very assiduous team, in my opinion.
I am pleased to speak in support of the general principles of the Digital Assets (Scotland) Bill. It recognises the simple but crucial reality that value today is increasingly held, transferred and secured digitally. Whether that value exists as a crypto asset in a public blockchain, a tokenised security or a digital representation of a real-world asset, Scots law must be able to recognise it as property.
Digital assets are sometimes spoken about as if they exist only in theory, but in practice they are secured by cryptography, recorded in distributed ledgers and controlled through private keys. Ownership, in functional terms, is exercised by the ability to control and transfer an asset on a blockchain network. Millions of transactions occur daily on decentralised systems that operate continuously, without intermediaries and across borders. The law cannot afford to treat those assets as intangible curiosities when they are already functioning as stores of value and mediums of exchange.
Blockchain and digital asset infrastructure underpin not only cryptocurrencies but decentralised finance, tokenised assets and programmable financial instruments. With estimates suggesting that the blockchain technology market could be worth £4.48 billion to Scotland by 2030, legal certainty becomes a competitive advantage. Jurisdictions that provide clarity on ownership, custody and transfer will attract developers, financial technology start-ups, asset managers and institutional capital. The bill positions Scotland to compete on that basis.
However, Scots property law was developed for a world of physical possession, and paper-based rights and digital assets do not fit neatly into existing categories such as corporeal moveables or traditional incorporeal rights. A crypto asset is not a physical thing, and nor is it simply a contractual right against another party. That mismatch creates uncertainty that the bill seeks to resolve. Without clear recognition of assets as property, parties face risk in areas such as custody, lending and succession. As such, businesses may avoid Scots law altogether, while individuals may be left without clear legal remedies.
By confirming digital assets as property, the bill supports critical market functions, such as custody arrangements, asset management and secure transfer. It provides the legal underpinning for regulated custodians, institutional investors and fintech firms operating in areas such as tokenisation and decentralised finance. Importantly, it also provides reassurance to individuals who hold digital assets directly, often through self-custody, that the law recognises those assets as something that they can own and protect.
The bill is about future proofing Scots law without overlegislating. It provides certainty without rigidity and clarity without constraining innovation. By confirming that digital assets are capable of ownership, we ensure that long-standing legal principles continue to apply in a digital context. As a member of the Economy and Fair Work Committee, I believe that the bill represents a sensible, informed and necessary step forward, and I support the motion that is before Parliament.