Under the new law, custodians holding unclaimed digital assets must transfer them to the state in their original form.
Crypto News
Virginia has changed how the state handles unclaimed digital assets. Governor Abigail Spanberger signed House Bill 798 into law on Monday. The measure updates the state's Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act to include crypto holdings.
Under the new law, custodians holding unclaimed digital assets must transfer them to the state in their original form. That means assets cannot be converted to cash before they are handed over. The requirement is designed to preserve the value of the asset for the original owner if they later come forward to reclaim it.
The law also sets a minimum holding period before the state can sell any unclaimed digital assets. The state may not direct a custodian to liquidate those assets until at least one year has passed since the filing of a report. That waiting period reduces the risk of assets being sold at low prices during market downturns.
Paul Grewal, chief legal officer of Coinbase, commented on the signing via X. He wrote that the law updates Virginia's unclaimed property rules to cover digital assets and ensures they are transferred in-kind. The Virginia Blockchain Council had previously described the bill as an important step toward modernizing the state's financial laws.
Virginia joins several other U.S. states that have extended unclaimed property rules to digitalassets. Arizona enacted a similar law in May 2024, allowing the state to take ownership of unclaimed crypto after three years and place it in a state-managed reserve. California has also brought crypto within the scope of its unclaimed property framework.
The bill sets a five-year inactivity period as the threshold for classifying a crypto account as abandoned. An account is not considered abandoned if the owner has shown signs of engagement during that period. Qualifying actions include logging into the account or conducting a transaction.
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