Virginia Enacts Rules for Unclaimed Digital Assets

Virginia enacted House Bill 798 on April 13, adding digital-asset provisions to the state’s unclaimed-property framework. The law addressed circumstances in which a business or custodian holds digital assets that become legally abandoned and must be reported or transferred under state rules.

The Bitcoin connection arises through custody and property law. Bitcoin held by a regulated custodian or other holder can become subject to unclaimed-property procedures when the owner cannot be contacted for the required period. Rules governing transfer, liquidation, valuation, and owner claims therefore affect how custodial Bitcoin is handled after apparent abandonment.

This was not a sweeping Bitcoin law, and its effect was narrower than national market-structure legislation. Its historical value is categorical: it shows ordinary state property law adapting to Bitcoin and other digital assets as they became common enough to require explicit statutory treatment.