Jai Sahu
- The UK’s Finance Minister has revealed the government’s intention to establish a regulatory framework for cryptoassets by the end of July.
- Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, during his tenure as the nation’s finance minister, expressed the ambition to position the UK as a global center for cryptocurrencies.
Economic Secretary to The Treasury, Bim Afolami, confirmed that the government aims to enact legislation by the end of July to create a regulatory framework for cryptoassets.
Afolami announced the timeline for implementing this legislation, which will cover the supervision of stablecoins, crypto staking, exchange, and custody services, at the Innovate Finance Global Summit on Monday.
“We are now working at pace to deliver the legislation to put our final proposals for our regime in place,” Afolami said. “Once it goes live, a whole host of crypto asset activities, including operating an exchange, taking custody of customers’ assets and other things, will come within the regulatory perimeter for the first time.”
UK’s Progress Towards Crypto Regulatory Framework
In February, Afolami, representing Hitchin and Harpenden in Parliament, stated that the UK government aims to finalize secondary legislation concerning stablecoins within six months.
In October 2023, the UK government published proposals outlining its plans for regulating the crypto sector. These proposals included a requirement for firms to obtain authorization from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to engage in crypto-related activities.
The proposals in October followed the UK Treasury’s consultation response in August, which agreed to a framework where the Bank of England and the FCA would jointly oversee systemic stablecoins.
In an earlier development in 2023, the UK passed the Financial Services and Markets Bill, laying the foundation for regulators to begin crafting a framework to supervise stablecoins and cryptocurrency financial activities within the country.