Digital Assets (Scotland) Bill: final business and regulatory impact assessment

Section 2: Engagement and information gathering

Engagement approach

The Scottish Government adopted a staged approach to engagement to review the status of digital assets in Scots private law. The first stage was the establishment of the ERG in 2019, which brought together representatives from academia, the legal sector, technical bodies and government. The ERG met regularly between 2019 and 2023 and carried out a small engagement exercise to gather a range of legal and technical perspectives on the status of digital assets of Scots private law. The ERG’s recommendations, reported to Ministers in November 2023, provided the basis for wider public engagement.

The Scottish Government then launched a public consultation on Digital Assets in Scots Private Law which ran from November 2024 to February 2025. The consultation sought views on whether, and how, digital assets should be recognised as property under Scots law. A total of 21 written responses were received, including contributions from individuals and representative bodies in the legal, financial services, and fintech sectors. Responses demonstrated broad support for primary legislation as the most effective means of providing legal certainty, while highlighting further consideration on areas such as the classification of digital assets and the basis for establishing ownership.

A range of evidence sources have been used to inform the development of policy options, including the Law Commission of England and Wales’ consultation analysis and responses available via the UK's Property (Digital Assets etc) Bill.

Internal SG engagement/ engagement with wider Public Sector

Internal SG engagement

Policy officials have engaged widely across Scottish Government to ensure that any proposals set out in the Bill do not cut across developments in other policy areas.

Financial services and financial markets regulation are both matters reserved to the UK Parliament under the Scotland Act 1998. This means that responsibility for the regulation of financial markets, investment services etc, sit with the UK Government and its regulatory bodies, such as the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.

The Bill focusses on devolved matters of Scots property law. The Bill will clarify the legal status of digital assets as property under Scots law and it will not look extend into areas reserved to the UK Parliament.

UK/ Devolved Administrations

Officials have engaged with counterparts elsewhere in the UK, namely the Law Commission of England and Wales, which commissioned the work for the UK Property (Digital Assets etc.) Bill, contributed to several meetings of the ERG, and with Ministry of Justice.

Wider Public Sector

The Bill will not create new regulatory functions or additional responsibilities for local authorities. Officials engaged with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) who had raised no specific concerns of the proposals outlined for the Bill.

Discussions also took place with Scotland Development International (SDI), given their strategic focus on supporting the growth of Scotland’s FinTech sector as one of the high-growth industries of the future, and the recently established Digital Trust Centre of Excellence. Officials were able to collaborate effectively with SDI during the consultation period to help increase the range of views.

Public consultation

The Scottish Government publicly consulted on proposals for potential primary legislation between 27 Nov 2024 and 5 February 2025. There were 21 responses to this consultation, with responses primarily submitted from the legal sector, including from legal academics. The consultation was complemented by a series of roundtables and stakeholder meetings, which allowed for targeted discussions with a range of stakeholders, including legal professionals, academics, FinTech representatives, and UK Government officials.

A findings and analysis report on the responses to the consultation was published on 23 May 2025. Overall, the responses demonstrated that strong support exists for clarifying the status of digital assets in Scots private law and for achieving this via primary legislation.

An Edinburgh Centre for Private Law Symposium took place on 23 May 2025, hosted by Professor David Fox of the ERG. Professor Fox welcomed the then recently announced PfG commitment for there to be a Digital Assets (Scotland) Bill in Year 5 and facilitated further consideration of those recommendations within the Scottish Government consultation.