Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal: Virginia Updates Unclaimed Property Law to Cover Digital Assets
Paul Grewal stated on his personal platform that Virginia Governor Jennifer Wexton has signed HB 798, updating the state's Unclaimed Property Law to include "digital assets" and stipulating that these assets must be transferred to the state government in their "in-kind" form. The bill establishes a legal framework for digital assets to be considered unclaimed property as "intangible property." Companies holding digital financial asset accounts but unable to contact the owners for a long time must report and transfer them as required, without being forced to immediately convert them to USD.
The Virginia Department of Treasury stated that this move will help the government securely store cryptocurrencies and other digital assets in digital wallets and custodial systems, while reducing legal uncertainties for platform holders. The bill received support in both the state House of Delegates and Senate and is considered one of the few state-level legislations in the U.S. that explicitly requires unclaimed digital assets to be handled in "in-kind" form.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
HB 798的通过标志着数字资产在制度层面上被正式纳入“传统财产法”结构。未认领财产制度本质上是一种消费者保护机制：当公司长期无法联系所有权人时，资产被移交国家代管，以便最终归还。弗吉尼亚州要求以“原资产形式”移交，意味着比特币等资产不再被强制折价为美元，州政府被迫在数字资产托管与风险管控上构建新能力，而非依赖现金化。
从结构层面看，这代表“监管链‑法链”的某种对齐：州政府将自己嵌入到数字资产托管链条中，而非仅作为现金监管者。对交易所、钱包平台和合规企业而言，这降低了其“代持”与“变现”负担，但同时提高了对州级财政系统数字资产能力的依赖。在其他州仍以“现金化”为主时，弗吉尼亚模式可能成为“高信任、高技术”合规路径的标杆。
长期趋势上，这类立法正在把“州‑财政部”引入数字资产持有层，形成“企业‑政府‑个人”三重托管结构。这既强化了消费者权益，又让政府在数字资产价格波动中承担部分风险，使未认领财产体系从“储存现金”升级为“存储数字价值”。弗吉尼亚的尝试，本质上是在探索“州级央行对加密资产的受托责任”，为未来数字资产与公共财政接口提供了制度实验样本。