Manifesto
The Government should promote the UK as a world leader in fintech, digital assets and tokenisation to generate investment, innovation and a more digital economy. This will drive productivity, growth and jobs across the UK economy, as well as improvements in the UK’s public services.
The Government should promote the UK as a world leader in fintech, digital assets and tokenisation to generate investment, innovation and a more digital economy. This will drive productivity, growth and jobs across the UK economy, as well as improvements in the UK’s public services.
1
Launch a Cross Government Action Plan
The UK should recognise the transformative potential of blockchain technology across all sectors of the economy and develop a strategy to onshore innovation through a Blockchain Action Plan. The Action Plan should explore how the Government can deliver better public services using the blockchain (education, health, transport etc), manage its crypto reserves (seized assets), how blockchain tech can complement other strategic technologies such as AI, and the broader policy approach to digital assets and blockchain technology - all led by a crypto Czar.
2
Deliver a Regulatory Framework that Fosters Innovation and Growth
Other jurisdictions are making headway in delivering regulatory certainty to the market. The UK should use its second mover advantage to deliver a regulatory framework that supports innovation; establishing clear guardrails for the sector will protect consumers, preserve market integrity, raise standards and give firms the confidence to invest and grow in the UK. Carefully calibrated and proportionate regulation will position the UK competitively in the global race for digital assets.
3
Embrace Stablecoins as Critical to Innovation for the City and in Payments
Stablecoins will revolutionise payments as they allow value to be delivered anywhere in the world in a few seconds, at low cost and 24/7 availability. Furthermore, stablecoins are critical to innovation in financial services, as the only on-chain settlement asset currently in existence, and therefore essential to tokenisation. The regulatory framework should embrace the innovative potential of stablecoins and ensure they can compete on a level playing field with other forms of digital money.
4
Position the City as a Centre for Wholesale Trading of Digital Assets
Digital assets and tokenisation can broaden investment opportunities (through fractional ownership), reduce costs, lower risk, and enhance the competitiveness of the UK’s capital markets. Pursuing tokenisation as a strategic priority will secure the City’s position as a leading financial services centre. The UK should: move quickly beyond sandboxes to adoption of tokenised trading; allow crypto to be recognised as collateral; embrace permissionless blockchains; and embrace stablecoins for use in wholesale settlement to drive tokenisation in financial markets.
5
Preserve Retail Participation as Crucial to the Success of Web3
Retail participation is essential to the growth of Web3; it drives innovation, adoption, and market maturity for this emerging tech and its use cases. However, the UK consumer protection regime for crypto assets goes further than any other jurisdiction. The UK should recalibrate “Fin Prom” so that at least the most mature, widely known and lower risk assets and services are removed from the highest risk bucket of Fin Prom. Moreover, the UK should reverse the ban on retail exposure to crypto ETNs and crypto derivatives; the current bans put the UK out of step with other jurisdictions.
6
Promote the Unique Benefits of Decentralisation
The Government should undertake detailed policy work to understand the unique characteristics and benefits that decentralisation can bring to users and markets. Specifically, decentralised finance and public blockchains offer unprecedented opportunities to reimagine financial services. The UK should ensure the regulatory framework does not force intermediation into decentralised processes.
7
Address the Challenges for Growth of the Sector Posed by De-Banking
Key to the growth of the blockchain sector is ensuring that companies have access to basic banking services. This is not currently the case; the majority of crypto asset and blockchain firms are “debanked”. Further, 8 out of 10 high street banks have blanket bans or limits on transfers to crypto asset exchanges. The significant and welcome steps the UK is taking to embrace the sector are undermined if the crypto sector is de-banked and the crucial on-ramp from fiat currency to crypto is choked off. The banks should not be allowed to take a blanket approach to a sector.
Stand With Crypto in the UK is more than a community - it's a movement.
Together, we can shape the future of blockchain technology and drive meaningful change. Join us today and be part of the revolution.
