Virginia to hold dormant crypto 'in-kind' for at least one year under new law
Virginia has become the latest state to update its unclaimed property statute to cover digital assets, creating a clearer framework for handling dormant crypto assets (The Block).
Governor Abigail Spanberger signed House Bill 798 (HB 798) into law on Monday, according to the state's legislative website (The Block). The legislation will take effect on July 1, 2026 (The Block).
Under the new framework, unclaimed crypto assets in customer accounts — those that remain dormant for five years — will be transferred to state custody in kind, meaning the actual tokens are transferred in their original form rather than being liquidated or converted to cash immediately (The Block).
Key crypto industry voices have welcomed Virginia's latest move. "Some good news out of Virginia," Paul Grewal, chief legal officer of Coinbase, wrote in a Tuesday post on X (The Block). "The law updates the state’s unclaimed property statute to cover digital assets and ensures they are escheated in-kind. Thank you, Virginia" (The Block).
Historically, state administrators often liquidated unclaimed crypto assets soon after they are transferred to state custody, meaning owners may receive the cash proceeds in earlier — potentially lower — market prices when they later file a claim (The Block). The bill now allows the state administrator to take custody of unclaimed digital assets in kind, stipulating that such assets should be held for at least one year before any liquidation (The Block).
The bill also provides a broad definition of "digital assets" as digital representations of value used as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, or a store of value (The Block). It excludes items such as non-cashable merchant rewards, in-game items limited to specific platforms, and certain regulated securities (The Block).
Virginia's enactment of HB 798 follows similar moves in other states, including California, which approved a bill in October to amend its Unclaimed Property Law to include digital financial assets such as cryptocurrencies (The Block).
