Digital loot may feel like property, but civil law is not always convinced. In NLJ this week, Paul Schwartfeger of 36 Stone and Nadia Latti of CMS examine fraud involving platform-controlled digital assets, from ‘account takeover and asset stripping’ to ‘value laundering’
While the Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025 and R v Lakeman signal judicial willingness to recognise digital value, contractual terms often deny users true ownership. Conversion and tracing claims face obstacles where assets exist only under revocable licences.
Practitioners must focus on early disclosure, Norwich Pharmacal relief and following real-world cash-outs. The law ‘does not disregard economic value merely because it is digital’, but remedies require tactical precision.
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