The United Kingdom, with the advent of its new prime minister in 2022, was expected to play a tremendous role in the adoption and regulation of cryptocurrencies and digital assets in the nation.
Crypto enthusiasts had looked up to Rishi Sunak, the prime minister of the UK, with very high hopes primarily because of his past advocacy of the asset. When he was the finance minister, he also tweeted, “We’re working to make the UK a global crypto assets hub.”
However, Philip Hammond, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, expressed his concerns about the nation slipping behind in the race to establish itself as the crypto hub. Notably, the former minister recently took charge as the chairman of the crypto exchanges in the country.
Hammond said that if the UK wants to establish itself as a crypto hub, it needs to pace its performance. He briefed the media that the nation needs to lead the concerned area post-Brexit, but it is losing its pace while other countries are taking the lead.
The UK needs to be leading in this area post-Brexit. It’s allowed itself to slip behind. Switzerland is further ahead. The EU is also moving faster. There has to be an appetite to take some measured risk.
He said that the company he is associated with had to pull back its registration from the UK last year due to apparent slow processing from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Later, it got its registration in Switzerland. In addition, he also said that the firm’s funding had been disrupted last year due to a brawl with the FCA.
Sources suggest that the UK’s stance on whether it’s pro-crypto or anti-crypto has been mixed. Several authorities and regulatory bodies have appeared to be stricter towards the sector. Apparently, the Advertising Standards Authorities have constantly clashed with crypto firms to prevent “misleading advertisements.”
However, supervision of advertisements and strict advertising rules are needed of the hour, given the events that occurred last year with the collapse of multiple crypto firms aggressively marketing their offerings.
In May 2022, The Treasury Department of the UK expressed its reaction to the USDT and LUNA crash by affirming the regulation of stablecoins. Last year in December, Todayq News reported that the new chief of FCA launched a harsh attack on the larger crypto business, posing the possibility of a confrontation between the UK authorities and cryptocurrency companies operating there.
The UK National Crime Agency also established a special unit dedicated to crypto-related crimes and was looking forward to hiring a blockchain expert.
In December, Godfrey John Bewicke-Copley (titled Lord Cromwell), a member of the House of Lords (the UK Parliament’s upper house), at an All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) meeting said that the crypto industry at the moment is a “complete disaster.” The APPG meeting was conducted to discuss the challenges and opportunities in the crypto sector.
However, in Wednesday’s parliamentary discussion on crypto regulation, Andrew Griffith, a Sunak’s Conservative Party member, pledged to have six roundtables with representatives from the sector in 2023. Griffth stated that to permit the safe use of this technology while ensuring regulatory clarity and promoting financial technology investment; they will present a “timely, sensible and balanced” legislation.