Cryptocurrency in Divorce: Disclosure, Hidden Assets and What the Courts Now Expect (2026). A specialist’s guide to cryptocurrency and digital assets in high-net-worth divorce

Is cryptocurrency treated as property in English law?

It is not a straightforward answer. Property has always been either been a “thing in possession” such as a bank account, a car, artwork (i.e. something you can physically possess”) or a “thing in action” (i.e. debts, shares, contractual rights, or put another way intangible rights that can be enforced via legal action). The Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025, which received Royal Assent and came into force on 2 December 2025, confirms that a thing is not prevented from being personal property merely because it is neither a physical object nor a traditional legal right, effectively paving the way for a “third category” of personal property capable of including cryptocurrency and NFTs. If digital assets are now capable of being considered property, then that brings them within the scope of the court’s powers to divide a couple’s assets on a divorce pursuant to section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. 

What does Culligan v Culligan tell us?

Culligan v Culligan [2025] EWFC 1, decided by Mr Justice MacDonald on 14 January 2025, is the most prominent recent example of cryptocurrency in a big-money divorce. It concerned a 40-year marriage with total assets of around £26m, including assets stemming from a Bitcoin fortune that the husband had built from an investment of roughly £10,000 into holdings once worth around £20m.

During the proceedings, a further £371,000 of previously undisclosed Bitcoin came to light. The court did not find that this met the high threshold for conduct that reduces a financial award, but it was relevant to costs, and the husband faced costs consequences for his disclosure failures. Three practical points stand out:

• The same disclosure standards apply to cryptocurrency as to any other asset. The absence of a dedicated box on Form E is no excuse for leaving it out.
• Disclosure failures carry real consequences, most commonly through costs orders against the party at fault.
• The technical nature of cryptocurrency is not a hiding place: forensic tools can trace blockchain transactions, and the courts are prepared to rely on them.

What are the disclosure obligations?

Financial remedy proceedings in England and Wales are governed by the Family Procedure Rules 2010. A duty of full and frank disclosure is imposed on both parties. This is one of the fundamental principles of the process, and it applies to all assets, digital ones included. If you hold cryptocurrency, it must be disclosed.

Financial disclosure is more often than not made by way of a Form E, the standard financial statement, on which each party sets out their assets, income, liabilities, pensions and property. Form E has no dedicated section for cryptocurrency, a gap that is sometimes exploited to conceal digital wealth, and one that practitioners and courts are increasingly alert to.

In practice, crypto should be disclosed sensibly, typically alongside investments or bank accounts, or within business interests where held through a company. The disclosure should include the wallet addresses, the type and quantity of each asset, the platform or exchange on which it is held, and a valuation. Where assets are held in cold storage on offline hardware wallets, particular care is needed. The following should all be disclosed:

• Cryptocurrency holdings such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and other tokens.
• NFTs and digital collectibles with an ascertainable value.
• Interests in decentralised finance platforms, including staked assets and liquidity pool positions.
• Cryptocurrency held through employer compensation or equity incentive schemes.
• Interests in crypto exchanges or digital asset businesses.
• Digital assets held through trusts, nominee arrangements or corporate structures.

Lots of practitioners are unsure about how to present digital assets or how to ask questions about them if they are disclosed in financial remedy proceedings. It is so important to ensure that you and your solicitor understand how these assets are stored digitally and what questions to ask to ensure you get the full picture and to ensure that the court properly takes these assets into account in the overall division of the assets.  

How is hidden cryptocurrency traced?

Cryptocurrency has a reputation for anonymity, but it is more accurately described as pseudonymous. Transactions are recorded permanently on a public blockchain ledger and can often be traced back to identifiable individuals and exchange accounts. Where a party is suspected of concealing digital assets, several routes are available.

Blockchain forensics

Specialist firms use proprietary software to trace transactions across the blockchain. By following the trail from known wallet addresses, investigators can identify the flow of funds, the exchanges used and the current location of assets. A forensic tracing report can be put before the court as expert evidence.

Bank statement analysis

Transfers to and from exchanges are often visible in ordinary bank statements. Regular payments to platforms such as Coinbase, Binance or Kraken are a starting point for establishing the existence and approximate scale of holdings.

Device forensics

Where a court order can be obtained, examination of phones, computers and hardware wallets can reveal wallet applications, exchange accounts and transaction histories.

Freezing injunctions

Where there is a real risk of dissipating assets with the intention of defeating a spouse’s claims for financial provision, and cryptocurrency can be moved across borders in seconds, the court can grant a freezing injunction over digital assets. This is a serious step, and while there is no reason such an injunction cannot apply to crypto as much as to a bank account, enforcing it in practice can be more difficult. After all, there is no bank to serve a freezing order on. 

How is cryptocurrency valued in a settlement?

Even once digital assets are disclosed, valuing them for a settlement is challenging. Prices can move dramatically over short periods, and Bitcoin has been known to move materially in a single day. In Culligan, a modest early investment had grown into very substantial wealth, but volatility can move sharply in the other direction too.

For NFTs and other unique assets, valuation is harder still. There is no liquid market for most NFTs, and value depends on provenance, the reputation of the creator and community perception. Expert evidence from a specialist in digital art or collectibles may be needed in high-value cases.

How are cryptocurrency assets divided on divorce?

Once identified and valued, digital assets can be dealt with in a financial settlement in broadly the same ways as other property:

• Transfer: moving some or all of the cryptocurrency directly to the other spouse’s wallet.
• Liquidation and division: selling the assets and dividing the proceeds, with careful attention to market timing and any tax on disposal (specialist advice on the latter should be obtained).
• Offsetting: retaining the cryptocurrency and giving the other spouse an equivalent value in other assets, such as property or cash, often using an agreed or averaged valuation to allow for volatility.

The right approach depends on the nature of the assets, the wider settlement and each party’s attitude to risk, which is why tailored advice matters.

What about international and cross-border digital assets?

Cryptocurrency is borderless by design, which creates particular challenges in cross-border cases. A wallet on a hardware device that is either “hot” or “cold” (i.e. online or stored offline) can be located anywhere, an exchange account may be registered in a jurisdiction with limited disclosure obligations, and assets can be moved between wallets and countries in seconds.

While the courts of England and Wales have wide powers of disclosure and division, enforcing orders abroad can be difficult. Obtaining information about assets held through foreign exchanges, or enforcing orders against digital assets in jurisdictions without equivalent legal frameworks, requires specialist advice and often international cooperation. The fact that England and Wales recognises crypto as divisible property does not mean another country will do the same.

If you know that your spouse has digital assets and you are concerned about their level of candour or their integrity (or, putting it another way, if you are worried that substantial digital assets may be put beyond your reach) you must take advice as soon as possible. Transferring digital assets may have far riskier consequences than simply transferring a property into someone else’s name. If you are the party with digital assets, work with your solicitor to ensure that your disclosure of those assets is presented as clearly and helpfully as possible in a bid to avoid any suspicion, whether or not that is merited.  

What happens if a spouse still hides crypto?

A financial order made on the basis of incomplete disclosure is vulnerable to being set aside if the non-disclosure later comes to light. The courts retain jurisdiction to reopen settlements where material non-disclosure is established, and in serious cases will look at the entire financial picture afresh rather than simply adjusting the original award. This has been the case ever since the Supreme Court’s decision in the cases of Sharland v Sharland and Gohil v Gohil.   Beyond that risk, non-disclosure can lead to adverse inferences and costs sanctions.

The direction of travel is towards greater visibility, not less. The FCA is developing a regulatory framework to bring cryptoassets within the UK’s financial services regime. Undisclosed cryptocurrency is increasingly likely to be found. 

What this means for you

Cryptocurrency is now a familiar feature of high-value divorce, and the law has caught up with it. Digital assets can be property and so they must be disclosed, and they can be traced, valued and divided like any other wealth. They are also only one part of the wider picture of digital-age divorce, alongside social media evidence, privacy and the wealth of technology founders. The key, whether you hold crypto or suspect your spouse does, is to approach it in the same disciplined way as any other asset and to take advice early. If you are facing a separation involving digital wealth, taking specialist advice at the outset is always the right first step.