Richmond, Virginia — Richmond, Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger has signed House Bill 798 into law in a major milestone towards state-level regulation of cryptocurrency, instituting a modern system of cryptocurrency unclaimed property. The bill, which passed on Monday, is a revision of the state-old Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act to make cryptocurrencies and other digital assets specifically covered, but adds new safeguards that prioritize the preservation of value over instant liquidation. This new legislation indicates a rising awareness of the U.S. jurisdictions that the established rules of unclaimed property, which are aimed mainly at cash, stock, and tangible property, are not well-adapted to the unstable and uncharacteristic character of digital currencies. Virginia is establishing itself as a more liberal and protective state to crypto-owners by asking them to make in-kind transfers and create a mandatory holding period.<h2>Understanding the Core Provisions of House Bill 798</h2>Centrally, House Bill 798 establishes a special statutory channel of digital assets in the unclaimed property regime of Virginia. With the new regulations, any digital asset stored in the customer account, wallet, or any other repository that is not accessed in five years is considered abandoned. The custodians, usually cryptocurrency exchanges, brokerages or wallet providers, are then required to report and remit these assets to the state. Most importantly, it has to be transferred in-kind, i.e., the physical cryptocurrencies or tokens have to be transferred to state custody in their native state, and not sold and converted to U.S. dollars. This is unlike in traditional ways where unclaimed properties get sold off promptly, which may be at the low point of a market cycle, and this will cause permanent losses to the rightful owners. The statute also has an inherent protection against rush sales. As per the text of the bill, the state administrator can only order the liquidation of reported but unremitted digital assets at least one year after the report is filed. This period of one-year requires time before the market conditions may change positively and the owners have more time to get back their property before a sale is made. “Digital asset” is clearly defined in the legislation as a digital representation of value used as a medium of exchange, unit of account, or store of value, excluding legal tender. The framework also considers digital accounts in their entirety, including wallets and repositories which can contain a combination of crypto, fiat, or other property. The bill, sponsored by Delegate C.E. Cliff Hayes Jr., sailed through the House by a large margin of 96-2 and the Senate by 40-0, before it came to the desk of the governor. It will become effective on July 1, 2026, and will give time to custodians and the state to develop working processes.<h2>Why In-Kind Custody Matters for Crypto Owners</h2>Custodial ownership of unclaimed crypto is associated with a number of physical advantages. Cryptocurrencies are not fixed such as cash; they may gain or lose significantly, receive staking rewards, or receive network upgrades, or be forked and airdropped. When the state sold off old assets in unfortunate market circumstances, immediate liquidation frequently saw the owners only recover a small portion of the potential value of the original asset. In comparison, the approach by Virginia maintains the inherent properties of the assets. Owners who subsequently establish their claim might get the precise tokens-or their equivalents following any corporate measures-potentially enhanced by network activity in the holding period. This minimizes the threat of compelled sales at diminished prices and is much closer to the long-term and decentralized ethos of most crypto investors. To the state, having a digital asset portfolio presents new obligations, such as safe ownership, wallets, and adherence to new blockchain security regulations. To protect these holdings against hacks or loss, Virginia will have to create or collaborate on good infrastructure which traditional cash-based unclaimed property offices have never had to deal with before.<h3>Broader Context: A National Trend Toward Smarter Crypto Escheatment</h3>Virginia is not alone. States all over the United States are slowly revising their unclaimed property laws to cope with the burst in the number of digital assets. Cryptocurrency worth billions of dollars are stored in cold storage on exchanges and in forgotten wallets, due to lost private keys, inactive accounts, the lack of estate planning in dead owners, and mere user oversight. In May 2025, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs signed a law to enable the state to seize unclaimed crypto in three years, and to have assets held in a managed reserve fund instead of converted directly into cash. California has also implemented the provisions to include digital assets in the unclaimed property system and focus on preservation where feasible. These developments are an improvement of the previous more crude development that could at times compel immediate liquidation. Such changes have been welcomed by industry proponents such as big platforms like Coinbase. Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal said the law in Virginia had been a good news because it rightly amended the law so that assets are now escheated in-kind. The movement belongs to a bigger attempt to transform the unclaimed property regulations, which were created many decades ago to help the owners to reunite with long-lost bank accounts, insurance payments, and utility deposits. With the increasing use of cryptos (especially by retail and institutional users) states are at risk of old-fashioned regulations that might undermine people's trust or deter innovation on the platforms in case they do not change.<h2>Implications for Exchanges, Custodians, and the Crypto Industry</h2>House Bill 798 is a welcome relief to cryptocurrency companies that run in or cater to residents of Virginia. Platforms now need to have in place mechanisms to detect dormant accounts, send requisite notices to owners, report to the state and conduct in-kind transfers. This can include better KYC/AML oversight, automated dormancy account, and safety transfer frameworks. Although compliance will incur some operational expenses, the law also decreases the legal ambiguity. In the past, the role of custodians was in a grey area, not knowing whether to sell assets in advance or face the risk of becoming liable. The new framework offers a harmonized process, which could protect adherent platforms against controversies. On a bigger level, the measured manner in which Virginia was doing things may affect other states. Lawmakers in other countries are monitoring the extent to which the Commonwealth has been successful in its digital asset custodianship, the balance between the rights of owners and the state, and the technical challenges posed by blockchain assets. A successful implementation would speed up other such reforms so that it forms a more consistent national patchwork of rules, not a fragmented one based on cash.<h2>Challenges and Future Considerations</h2>The law has its challenges despite the forward-thinking aspects of the law. Having long-term storage of meaningful crypto reserves will involve a lot of investment in cybersecurity and, perhaps, insurance. The state also needs to define transparent methods of valuing assets to be reported, how to treat hard forks or token migrations and the tax consequences when the reclamation or ultimate sale occurs. Education is important to owners. Not all crypto users know about the unclaimed property laws and the possibility to reclaim assets. Virginia will probably have to introduce mass media campaigns and user-friendly claim portals adapted to the verification of digital assets, which is often done with wallet addresses and transaction proofs, instead of the classical documentation. With the maturity of the crypto market, privacy, decentralization, and self-custody questions will continue to exist. Although this legislation applies to custodial platforms, in practice, decentralized holdings, in which there is no intermediary, are not covered by this law, which once again shows the current conflict between regulatory standards and the essence of blockchain.<h2>A Step Toward Regulatory Maturity</h2> The fact that Governor Spanberger signed House Bill 798 is an indication that Virginia is willing to approach digital assets with the same level of sophistication as it warrants. Instead of pushing the new technologies into the old boxes, the state has developed regulations that recognize the volatility, technological distinctiveness, and the interests of the owners. With an increasing number of Americans owning cryptocurrency as part of their portfolios, legislation such as this one fills in the current gap between the new technology and the traditional financial framework. They minimize unwarranted losses, increase consumer confidence, and promote the responsible development of the digital asset ecosystem. Having an effective date of July 1, 2026, Virginia has established a thoughtful precedent. The other states will certainly pay significant attention to its results as they go through the journey of incorporating crypto into the unclaimed property regimes. To date, the owners of idle digital property in Virginia may be relieved that their property will at least be treated with more care than it was years ago.

Virginia Governor Spanberger signed HB 798, securing in-kind protection for unclaimed crypto. Effective July 2026, the law prevents forced liquidation, preserving asset value for owners.


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