According to bitcoin exchange Coinbase, the United Kingdom may “turbocharge” its crypto industry and become a “innovation hub for the Web3 economy.” The exchange’s statements correspond with an April 17 Sky News story that the UK Treasury is planning to resurrect the Asset Management Taskforce, emphasizing building crypto legislation in conjunction with the private sector.
Coinbase stated in an April 16 blog post that it is working “seriously” in the United Kingdom and Europe. It commended the region’s progressive regulatory initiatives and said that its CEO, Brian Armstrong, will speak at a London FinTech conference and make nine ideas on how the United Kingdom may “cement its place” as a Web3 center.
“The United Kingdom has been one of our fastest-growing user markets, and the E.U. is this week set to adopt the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation, which will bring in a new licensing regime across the 27 member states,” the post reads, adding, “In short, things are happening in Europe that are edging the region ahead, and the region is preparing for a seismic change in how it uses and thinks about money when it comes to embracing the digital economy.”
The post also contained a summary of Armstrong’s nine suggestions for the United Kingdom government. Among the items on the list are guaranteeing collaboration between the banking and FinTech industries, adopting a cross-departmental strategy for tech innovation and economic digitalization, and establishing a legal framework for cryptocurrency as soon as possible.
Coinbase also discussed implementing “a regulatory framework that promotes stablecoins,” clarifying tax status for crypto assets, and crafting a plan to “bring de-centralized ID (DiD) to fruition.” In the run-up to his April 18 address, Armstrong announced on Twitter on April 16 that he had met with the United Kingdom’s Economic Secretary and City Minister, Andrew Griffith.
The Coinbase CEO expressed worry about the de-banking of some crypto enterprises in the United Kingdom, as well as the negative repercussions of the 24-hour “cooling off” period for investments in financial product promotions, which went into force in February under the “Financial Promotion regime.”
According to Sky News U.K., the Treasury will shortly resurrect the Asset Management Taskforce under the leadership of City Minister Griffith. The Asset Management Taskforce was formed in 2017 with the goal of improving communication between the government, the FinTech and crypto industries, and the local financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The body looks to have been pretty inactive during the last few years. However, Sky News reports that discussions will take place this week between the Treasury, the FCA, fund managers, and other stakeholders as the government seeks ways to strengthen the local crypto asset market.
Notably, Griffith spoke on the opening day of the UK FinTech Week conference in London on April 17 and stressed that the government is focusing on “fostering innovation by making the U.K. a safe jurisdiction for crypto asset activity.”
“We set out plans in our wide-ranging consultation, which was published in February, and we want to proactively support the use of distributed ledger technology and tokenization where it makes sense,” he added.
