The government is striving to adopt the new law before this year’s general election.
Crypto companies based in the UK have been demanding clearer regulations for a while.
Within the next half-year, lawmakers in the UK want to enact new regulations on cryptocurrency staking and stablecoins.
The government is striving aggressively to adopt the new law before this year’s general election, according to Bloomberg, which Economic Secretary to the Treasury Bim Afolami said at a Coinbase-hosted crypto event in London on February 19.
Afolami stated:
“We’re very clear that we want to get these things done as soon as possible. And I think over the next six months, those things are doable.”
When asked for further specifics about the long-awaited crypto policy, Afolami stayed mum. In 2022, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the UK made a commitment to turn the nation into a “global crypto hub.” He emphasized the importance of crypto companies being able to “invest, innovate and scale up” in the UK.
Legislation Underway
Crypto companies based in the UK have been demanding clearer regulations since then, but at present nothing has changed. The United Kingdom Law Commission released four significant proposals to change domestic regulations around cryptocurrency usage and ownership on July 3, 2023.
Digital assets have certain characteristics that make them special, hence the commission advocated for their formal recognition as a separate kind of personal property.
This drive was accompanied by a call for the government to examine crypto assets through the lens of common law and to form a group of academics, legal practitioners, and technological specialists to assist courts on crypto-related matters.
The government of the United Kingdom said on October 30, 2023, that it intends to address the cryptocurrency industry in 2024 with new regulations and that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) would be responsible for overseeing fiat-backed stablecoins.