UK Government’s Ambition to Make Britain a Global Crypto Hub ‘Remains Steadfast’

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Britain’s Economic Secretary to the Treasury Andrew Griffith MP has reaffirmed the government’s ambition to make the U.K. a global hub for crypto asset technologies. He stressed that in order to realize this ambition, “we must make the U.K. a place where cryptoasset firms have the clarity needed to invest and innovate, and where customers have the protections necessary for confidently using these technologies.”

U.K. Aspires to Become Global Crypto Hub

Andrew Griffith MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, has reaffirmed the British government’s commitment to make the U.K. a global crypto hub.

In the forward of HM Treasury’s response to the consultation and call for evidence regarding the future financial services regulatory regime for crypto assets, published this week, Griffith wrote: “I am very pleased to present these final proposals for cryptoasset regulation in the U.K. on behalf of the government.” He emphasized:

The government’s ambition to make the U.K. a global hub for cryptoasset technologies remains steadfast.

“To realise this ambition we must make the U.K. a place where cryptoasset firms have the clarity needed to invest and innovate, and where customers have the protections necessary for confidently using these technologies,” the Economic Secretary to the Treasury added.

The British government published its consultation paper on the future regulatory framework for crypto assets in February. “We set out extensive proposals for a U.K. regime, including plans to regulate core activities such as custody and lending, and to bring centralised cryptoasset exchanges into financial services regulation for the first time,” Griffith detailed, elaborating:

With the future regulatory framework now taking clear shape and the Financial Services and Markets Act now passed, the U.K. is the obvious choice for starting and scaling a cryptoasset business.

The top government official stated that the U.K. is the largest financial center globally outside of the U.S. Noting that the country’s tech industry is worth over $1 trillion, Griffith stressed: “We are only the 3rd country to hit this valuation after China and the U.S.”

He noted, “Unsurprisingly the U.K. consistently ranks at or near the top of research reports on ‘crypto-readiness’ and ‘crypto-friendliness,’” adding:

I look forward to our continued work with the sector in making our vision a reality for the U.K. as a global hub for cryptoasset technology.

The U.K. government first unveiled its comprehensive plan to become a global crypto hub in April last year. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who was the Chancellor of the Exchequer at the time, commented: “It’s my ambition to make the U.K. a global hub for cryptoasset technology, and the measures we’ve outlined today will help to ensure firms can invest, innovate, and scale up in this country.” John Glen, the U.K.’s Economic Secretary to the Treasury at the time, similarly stated: “We want this country to be a global hub — the very best place in the world to start and scale crypto-companies.”

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