header-logo header-logo

07 March 2025 / Jessica Boxford , Joseph Evans , Cassidy Fan
Issue: 8107 / Categories: Features , Insolvency , Technology , Crypto , Property
printer mail-detail

The future of insolvency: a digital asset revolution

210368
The definition of ‘property’ is about to expand: Jessica Boxford, Joseph Evans & Cassidy Fan explore the impact on insolvency practitioners
  • The Property (Digital Assets etc) Bill will widen the definition of ‘property’ in general law. This means officeholders can, with increased certainty, exercise their statutory powers over digital and unconventional assets.
  • The Bill also introduces additional costs and complexities due to the highly diverse and evolving nature of digital assets.

The new Property (Digital Assets etc) Bill introduced into Parliament on 11 September 2024 will widen the definition of ‘property’ in general law. This article considers the impact of the Bill on the law relating to insolvency.

The Bill will expand what property constitutes the insolvent estate. This means officeholders can, with increased certainty, exercise their statutory powers under the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986) over digital and unconventional assets. This could potentially mean those assets could be realised, and creditors could receive a larger dividend from the distribution

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

Fieldfisher partner appointed president as LSLA marks milestone year

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Firm promotes two lawyers to partnership across employment and family

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Firm promotes five lawyers to partnership across key growth areas

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
back-to-top-scroll