However, it is uncertain whether the law would accept a transfer of ownership where the purported transfer is “off-chain” through, for example, A giving B control of the asset via a private key.1Yüksel Ripley, B., MacPherson , A., & Carey, L. (2025). Digital Assets in Scots Private Law: Innovating for the Future. 29 Edinburgh Law Review, 2, 175-210. doi: https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/full/10.3366/elr.2025.0955 (open access)
The publicity principle
Conferring ownership on B in this scenario may be reflective of what parties expect when dealing with digital assets but it is at odds with the so-called “publicity principle” of Scots law.