- The British chancellor Rishi Sunak wants the UK to be a “global cryptoasset hub”
- Sunak wants stablecoins to be regulated as part of a push to increase trust
- The country’s financial overlord, the FCA, has been trying to ban crypto for years
The news yesterday that the UK’s chancellor Rishi Sunak wants Britain to become a “global cryptoasset hub” took the country by surprise for a number of reasons, not least because the country’s financial watchdog is trying to ban it. Rishi Sunak said yesterday that he wanted to encourage regulation of certain types of cryptocurrency, including stablecoins, in a bid to encourage trust in the sector, while the Royal Mint will create a commemorative NFT this summer, a set of developments that baffled crypto and non-crypto worlds alike.
UK to Join ‘Blockchain Hub’ List
The news that the UK wants to add its name to the doomed list of ‘blockchain hubs’ was particularly surprising given the cool reception that the asset class has received in the British political scene, especially stablecoins. However, it is stablecoins that will be the first sector to be regulated, with the idea that they will be used for forms of payment in the future.
Sunak’s positivity over the crypto sector is at total odds to the country’s financial watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which has been doing its utmost over the past two years to kick cryptocurrency into the gutter, including banning all Bitcoin ATMs in the country, warning the country not to use cryptocurrency exchanges, advising banks not to support deposits to crypto entities, and even spending $14 million on warning young people off crypto.
This oppositional stance was not lost on crypto supporters:
But let’s start by banning Bitcoin ATMs
— El Sultán ₿itcoin ⚡️🛰 🇸🇻 🇻🇪 (@elsultanbitcoin) April 4, 2022
It remains to be seen how Sunak’s ambitious new plans will go down with the FCA, who will likely be smarting at the amount of pro-crypto sentiment that could suddenly be sweeping the UK.
