Virginia will be required to hold unclaimed cryptocurrency in its original token form for at least one year before selling it, under a new law signed by Governor Abigail Spanberger.
The measure, House Bill 798, amends the state’s unclaimed property statute to cover digital assets and is scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2026.
Key change: in-kind holding of crypto
Under the law, crypto tokens that have been dormant in customer accounts for five years must be transferred to state custody “in kind,” meaning the state will receive and hold the actual tokens, not their cash equivalent.
The tokens must then be kept for a minimum of one year before the state can liquidate them.
Previously, administrators often sold digital tokens quickly after taking custody. That practice meant owners who later reclaimed their assets might receive only the cash proceeds from an earlier sale, potentially locked in at lower past market prices.
The new requirement is intended to give original owners a better chance of reclaiming the same tokens, or at least benefiting from market moves during the initial one-year window.
What counts as a digital asset
House Bill 798 defines “digital assets” as electronic representations of value used as a:
- medium of exchange
- unit of account
- store of value
The law excludes:
- in-game items restricted to a specific digital platform
- loyalty or rewards points that cannot be exchanged for cash
- certain assets already covered by securities regulations
By narrowing the scope, Virginia aims to capture mainstream crypto tokens and related assets without pulling in routine consumer reward systems or purely in-game items.
Virginia joins wider state push on crypto rules
Virginia’s move follows similar state-level efforts to bring digital assets into traditional unclaimed property regimes.
California introduced a related measure in October to prevent automatic liquidation of crypto transferred to state control, reflecting growing concern over how governments handle digital holdings.
These changes indicate that states are increasingly treating digital assets as a durable form of property, rather than a short-term speculative product. The trend is toward embedding crypto into familiar legal and financial structures, offering clearer expectations for exchanges, custodians, and asset holders.
Federal regulators tighten digital asset framework
At the national level, financial regulators are also moving to clarify ground rules for the digital asset economy:
- The U.S. Department of the Treasury has proposed a rule that would require stablecoin issuers to run anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance programs similar to those of banks and other financial institutions.
- On March 17, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued a joint interpretation aimed at clarifying which digital assets should be treated as securities and which should be treated as commodities.
Together, these steps are part of a broader push to define regulatory boundaries and compliance expectations for the sector.
Market backdrop: bitcoin near record territory
This policy activity is unfolding against a backdrop of rising market participation and new access channels.
- Spot exchange-traded funds have opened direct routes into the market, expanding liquidity and helping to normalize digital asset exposure for a wider base of market participants, including large institutions and active traders.
- Real-world asset tokenization is expanding, with bonds and private credit increasingly issued and settled on-chain, shifting the technology from pure trading toward infrastructure for capital markets.
As of April 15, 2026:
- Bitcoin is trading near $74,159
- Its recent low was around $62,800
- Market capitalization is about $1.5 trillion
At this level, bitcoin sits just outside the global top 10 assets by market value, underlining its growing role in the broader financial landscape.
Technology shifts: ethereum upgrades for scale
The underlying infrastructure is also evolving to support larger, more complex activity.
Ethereum, the leading smart-contract platform, is preparing two major network upgrades in 2026, known as Glamsterdam and Hegota. These upgrades are designed to:
- improve transaction efficiency
- enhance scalability
- boost throughput to potentially handle thousands of transactions per second
Such capacity is critical for supporting tokenized markets, including on-chain issuance and settlement of traditional financial instruments.
A maturing market structure
The combination of clearer regulation and more capable technology is gradually reshaping how digital assets are used and understood.
Virginia’s in-kind custody rule fits into this broader shift. By tightening rules around ownership, transfer, and liquidation, authorities are:
- reinforcing digital assets as a recognized, long-term property class
- providing a more predictable framework for those who hold assets over extended periods
- nudging the market focus from short-term price moves toward structural resilience, compliance, and long-run utility
For traders and other market participants, the emerging environment is one where legal clarity, custody rules, and infrastructure design increasingly matter as much as headline price action.
Concerned about lost crypto or account safety? Learn how to protect your crypto account today.
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