Paul Volmer: California has enacted legislation extending its unclaimed property framework to digital financial assets, including cry
California has enacted legislation extending its unclaimed property framework to digital financial assets, including cryptocurrency held on custodial platforms. The law was signed in 2025 and took effect on January 1, 2026. Under its provisions, if an account remains inactive for a statutory dormancy period…generally three years, with no owner-initiated activity or communication…the assets may be deemed abandoned. In such cases, the custodian is required to transfer the assets to the state for safekeeping. Title to the property remains with the original owner, who retains the right to file a claim for its return at any time. However, pursuant to standard unclaimed property procedures, the state may liquidate the assets after a specified holding period, in which case the owner is entitled to the proceeds rather than the original digital assets. This framework aligns cryptocurrency with the existing treatment of dormant financial accounts and does not apply to assets held in self-custodied wallets.
Importantly, this does not mean that wallets such as those attributed to Satoshi Nakamoto could be transferred to the State of California. The law applies only to custodial accounts where a third-party intermediary (such as an exchange) holds the assets on behalf of a user. Bitcoin held in self-custodied wallets…where only the private key holder has control…cannot be accessed, transferred, or claimed by the state without voluntary action from the owner.
Paul Volmer: California has enacted legislation extending its unclaimed property framework to digital financial assets, including cry
California has enacted legislation extending its unclaimed property framework to digital financial assets, including cryptocurrency held on custodial platforms. The law was signed in 2025 and took effect on January 1, 2026. Under its provisions, if an account remains inactive for a statutory dormancy period…generally three years, with no owner-initiated activity or communication…the assets may be deemed abandoned. In such cases, the custodian is required to transfer the assets to the state for safekeeping. Title to the property remains with the original owner, who retains the right to file a claim for its return at any time. However, pursuant to standard unclaimed property procedures, the state may liquidate the assets after a specified holding period, in which case the owner is entitled to the proceeds rather than the original digital assets. This framework aligns cryptocurrency with the existing treatment of dormant financial accounts and does not apply to assets held in self-custodied wallets. Importantly, this does not mean that wallets such as those attributed to Satoshi Nakamoto could be transferred to the State of California. The law applies only to custodial accounts where a third-party intermediary (such as an exchange) holds the assets on behalf of a user. Bitcoin held in self-custodied wallets…where only the private key holder has control…cannot be accessed, transferred, or claimed by the state without voluntary action from the owner.
