From Data to Property: Recovering Digital Assets in Modern Law

Matt Green and Flavia Kenyon examine how crypto assets came to be recognised as property through civil and criminal case law, culminating in the Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025. Drawing on precedent-setting matters in which they were instructed, they explore the shift from treating digital assets as data to recognising them as proprietary objects capable of ownership, tracing, freezing, and recovery.

They will also share practical experience from complex recovery cases, including urgent injunctions, disclosure against exchanges, cross-border enforcement, and evidential challenges, offering strategic insights into navigating judicial processes and technical issues in high-value digital asset disputes.

Flavia is a specialist barrister practising in crypto assets and digital asset disputes, combining deep technical fluency in blockchain systems, AI, Web3, DeFi, FinTech, smart legal contracts, and digital trade with extensive courtroom advocacy experience spanning over two decades.She often advises founders, institutions, and developers on the legal architecture of emerging technologies, including smart legal contracts, algorithmic governance, digital asset structures, and compliance frameworks for blockchain-based and AI systems.

Flavia recently appeared in the Court of Appeal in a leading case concerning the legal status of in-game wealth and virtual assets, addressing novel questions of property and the distinction between proprietary source code and instantiated digital value. Her wider practice includes international law and arbitration, and specialist advisory work on the legal and regulatory implications of emerging technologies, supporting clients operating in fast-moving digital economies and regulated markets. Flavia is recognised as a leading barrister and is ranked Tier 1 for Crypto-assets and Blockchain by The Legal 500.

Complementing her practice, Flavia heads the legal consultancy at the think-tank Big Innovation Centre (London) and has given evidence to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on blockchain adoption and associated legal challenges.

Matt is a leading figure and experienced litigator in complex and multi‑jurisdictional disputes involving blockchain technology and digital assets. His practice includes crypto asset recovery for individuals and businesses following a hack, scam or misappropriation, including matters where wrongdoers are unknown or outside the jurisdiction, as well as contractual disputes with digital assets at their core.

He has extensive experience obtaining urgent, bespoke injunctions, including worldwide freezing orders, search orders (such as Anton Piller orders) and specific disclosure orders, and he has advised in some of the leading cases in this sector. His expertise has been recognised in the leading legal directories, most recently in the Crypto‑Asset Disputes section of Chambers and Partners’ FinTech Guide 2026.