- Virginia’s Governor signed House Bill 798 on April 13, 2026, updating the state’s unclaimed property laws regarding crypto.
- State administrators often liquidate unclaimed crypto soon after they are transferred to state custody.
- House Bill 798 takes effect on July 1, 2026, transferring unclaimed crypto to state custody in-kind.
On April 13, 2026, Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger signed House Bill 798 into law, updating the state’s unclaimed property rules to include digital assets. The law requires custodians to transfer dormant crypto assets that have been inactive for five years to state custody in kind rather than liquidating them immediately.
This change protects owners from forced sales during market downturns. The law takes effect on July 1, 2026, and requires the state to hold the assets for at least one year before any potential sale.
Virginia Enacts House Bill 798 on Unclaimed Crypto
On April 13, 2026, Virginia’s Governor signed House Bill 798 into law, amending the Virginia Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act to include digital assets. The legislation, introduced by Chief Patron C.E. Cliff Hayes Jr., creates a statutory framework for handling dormant cryptocurrency and other digital assets presumed abandoned after five years of inactivity in customer wallets.
The bill requires custodians to transfer unclaimed digital assets to state custody in kind, meaning they remain in their original token form rather than being converted to cash immediately. Once under state control, the assets must be held for at least one year before the administrator can authorize any liquidation.
Prior Liquidation Practices Reduce Owner Recovery Value
Before House Bill 798, Virginia administrators routinely liquidated unclaimed cryptocurrency assets immediately upon transfer to state custody. Custodians reported dormant digital assets presumed abandoned after five years of inactivity, and the state converted them into cash at the prevailing market price at the time of sale.
The quick-sale approach treated volatile digital tokens the same as stable traditional property, ignoring blockchain realities. Owners frequently received depreciated equivalents even after successfully filing claims, highlighting a mismatch between legacy unclaimed property rules and the nature of crypto assets.
What’s Next as State Custody In-Kind Transfers Start July 1, 2026?
The legislation takes effect on July 1, 2026. Virginia is following similar reforms in other states, such as California, which approved a bill in October 2025 to extend its Unclaimed Property Law to cover digital financial assets, such as cryptocurrencies.
The Virginia Department of the Treasury will select qualified custodians to securely manage and safeguard these in-kind assets. The state administrator must also establish clear procedures to reunite owners with their digital holdings. No liquidation can occur for at least one year after receipt, helping protect against immediate forced sales.
Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal welcomed the move, stating on X that it ensures assets are “escheated in-kind.” If a claim is filed within the one-year holding period, the owner receives the digital assets directly or their equivalent value.
After one year, the state administrator may authorize a sale under existing unclaimed property rules, with claimants then entitled to the greater of the sale proceeds or the asset’s market value at the time of the claim.
Related: Kansas Proposes Framework to Manage Bitcoin and Digital Assets in State Treasury
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