Virginia Approves Law to Hold Unclaimed Crypto for at Least One Year Before Sale

Highlights:

• Virginia approved a new law requiring unclaimed crypto to stay in-kind before sale.
• The law sets clear rules for reporting, holding, transferring, and reclaiming dormant digital assets.
• Owners who claim early can receive stronger value protection if their dormant crypto was sold.

Virginia has approved a new law that sets rules for how the state will handle unclaimed digital assets, including cryptocurrency. Under House Bill 798, if certain crypto assets end up in state custody as unclaimed property, they must generally be held in their native form, or “in-kind,” for at least one year before they can be sold. The bill was approved by Governor Glenn Youngkin on Monday and will take effect on 1 July.

The new framework states that property in a digital asset account will be presumed abandoned after five years. The five-year clock stops if the owner shows activity in the account. This includes buying or selling digital assets, making deposits or withdrawals, accessing the account online, using another account with the same holder, or otherwise demonstrating knowledge of the account’s existence. The same applies if the owner communicates with the holder in writing, verbally, or electronically.

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The bill was introduced by Delegate C.E. Hayes. It passed the Virginia House by 96-2 on 6 February. It then passed the Senate by 40-0 on 4 March before going to the governor.

How the New Law Handles Unclaimed Crypto

The bill defines a digital asset as something digital that holds value and can be used for payment, saving, or pricing things. It is not considered legal tender. This mainly covers most cryptocurrencies people use for investing or transactions.

But the law does not include everything digital. It leaves out merchant reward points that cannot be turned into cash, in-game currencies used only inside specific platforms, and securities already registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

This change is important for crypto users because it can better protect the value of forgotten holdings. In the past, many states sold unclaimed crypto soon after taking control of it. As a result, if the market moved later, the original owner could miss out. For example, if prices rose after the sale, the owner would only get back the cash value from that earlier time, not the actual crypto.

Companies that hold crypto for customers have clear duties under this law. If a company has full control of the private keys, it must report the assets and transfer the actual cryptocurrency to the state. 

If the company has only partial access or cannot move the assets because of technical problems, it must keep them safe until the transfer becomes possible. In some cases, the state administrator can also order the assets to be sold. This can happen when an approved state custodian is unable to accept certain digital assets.

Virginia Sets Simple Process to Reclaim Crypto

Virginia’s law also protects people who want to get back their inactive crypto.

If someone files a claim within one year after the state receives the assets, they will get the better amount. That means either the money made from selling the crypto or the current market value at the time of the claim, whichever is higher.

After that one-year period, the person will get the crypto itself if it has not been sold. If it was already sold, they will receive the sale money. The law also says the state must create a proper system to help owners recover their digital assets. The main goal is to return lost property to the real owner, not keep it forever.

This development has been widely accepted within the crypto community. According to Coinbase’s chief legal officer, Paul Grewal, the bill is a step in the right direction.

Some good news out of Virginia. Governor @SpanbergerForVA signed HB 798 into law last night. The law updates the state’s unclaimed property statute to cover digital assets and ensures they are escheated in-kind. Thank you Virginia. pic.twitter.com/UxXwKLCV7q

— Paul Grewal (@iampaulgrewal) April 14, 2026

Similar laws have been passed in other states, including California, which amended its unclaimed property statute to cover digital financial assets last year.