UK Considers Crypto in Parliamentary Debate

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n Wednesday, the United Kingdom's finance minister Andrew Griffith presided over a parliament session discussing cryptocurrency regulations. After much deliberation and discussion, it was ultimately agreed that measures should be taken to provide clarification on this emergent sector as soon as 2023.

UK lawmakers held a parliamentary debate on cryptocurrency and regulation on Jan. 25, but while lawmakers were quick to point out gaps in current regulation, relatively few details were given as to what regulation may actually look like. 

Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor of the Exchequer promised clarification on cryptocurrency in a preamble published by U.K. Parliament's website to start an important debate - “With absolute commitment, we are determined to ensure that the United Kingdom can continue being one of the most progressive and competitive financial services sector hubs worldwide".

 “My undertaking is to have six roundtables with the sector with a variety of sector participants during 2023,” Griffith assured us that more needs to be done, and he is committed to delivering on this promise “sensible and balanced regulation in order to allow the safe use of this technology.” 

Rishi Sunak, the U.K.'s current prime minister and former finance minister, echoes similar sentiments from his time in office that he aims to make Britain a crypto superpower. “I’m a deep believer that we should embrace technology and innovation as a way to improve all our lives and make things better, make things cheaper, make things faster,” Sunak said.  

Wednesday's debate will be considered as progress, yet it'll be captivating to watch if the U.K.'s methodology of crypto regulation is distinct from those being proposed in Europe.

In his January blog post, Fabio Panetta, member of the European Central Bank's Executive Board, declared “we can’t afford to leave crypto unregulated.”

Lately, the discussion of regulation has become more and more pressing in light of FTX's centralized exchange failure. Last week, during the World Economic Forum in Davos, leading business figures such as Circle's CEO Jeremy Allaire implored policymakers to provide regulatory clarity.

As the U.K. contemplates its own laws in response to leaving the EU, Financial Secretary John Griffith has promised a comprehensive policy document outlining their regulations on cryptos and greater clarity going forward in “matter of certainly weeks, not months.”

Mike

An editor at Coincrop

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Mike is a Coincrop staff writer based in the UK, covering the best rates for cryptocurrency earning and borrowing products. When not at work, he's likely putting his latest car project back together.