Lately, when it comes to the state of crypto regulation and integration with the traditional financial system, all eyes have been on the US, the EU, and parts of Asia.
In the US, it’s been a turbulent situation with regulatory bodies and some politicians behaving hostile to crypto, while BlackRock, which is filing an ETF application, has opened up the possibility of a more welcoming environment. In the EU, MiCA has been approved, creating the impression of a continent moving quickly towards crypto acceptance and looking to set a global standard. Additionally, Asia, Hong Kong and Singapore are often mentioned as potential crypto hubs, while Japan, too, appears to be taking an open-minded approach.
Another region of particular interest, though, is the UK, which now – post-Brexit – is operating independently of the EU and has an opportunity to maneuver swiftly and on its terms. As in the EU and Asia, the UK appears to be largely accepting of the crypto industry, interested in positioning itself there advantageously. On top of that, there have been several recent developments that indicate the direction to come.
The Financial Services and Markets Act
It was announced on Thursday that the Financial Services and Markets Bill had passed Royal Assent. This is the final stage in which it will now be legal as a new Act. This is significant because it includes cryptocurrencies and stablecoins within its remit, and thus, crypto is now treated as a regulated financial activity.
This doesn’t tell us exactly how regulators will treat crypto currently, but it does mean that crypto is regarded as a significant sector and that the path is clear to officially get to grips with the industry as has been taking place in the EU. And, for a suggestion of the attitude of those in charge, we can look to this week’s UK government press release, which states:
“The Act is central to the Government’s vision to grow the economy and create an open, sustainable, and technologically advanced financial services sector.”
And it also specifically describes how the Act
“establishes ‘sandboxes’ that can facilitate the use of new technologies such as blockchain in financial markets.”
As a further indicator of where the UK might be heading, we have the…
