UK Passes Bill Establishing Crypto and Stablecoins as Regulated Financial Activities

On 28 June, King Charles III gave royal assent to a landmark bill to “reclaim control of the financial services manual”.

The Financial Services and Markets Bill 2023 was approved by the upper house of the UK Parliament on 19 June.

Bill This includes measures to bring crypto assets and stable coins under regulation, giving them powers to oversee the digital asset sector.

1/ 🇬🇧 The UK’s Financial Services and Markets Bill has received Royal Assent, the final step in major legislation that brings #stable coins within the regulatory ambit, designated #crypto As a regulated activity and supervision #crypto Publicity

— Tina Baker-Taylor (@TeanaTaylor) 29 June 2023

Rocket boost for UK economy

The Treasury described the bill as a “rocket boost” for the UK economy, which has been battered during the pandemic and its exit from Europe.

It clarified that the bill “enables regulation of crypto assets to assist in the safe adoption of them in the UK.”

The Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Andrew Griffiths, said: “2023 is proving to be a banner year for reform of our financial services.”

“This landmark piece of legislation gives us control over our financial services rulebook, so it supports UK businesses and consumers and drives growth.”

During the formulation of the bill, amendments were made to include crypto as a regulated financial activity and to monitor crypto promotion and advertising. Stable coins are also involved in monitoring bill payment rules.

The legislation could lure more crypto companies from the United States to the UK, which is currently trying to push them out by ‘carpet bombing’ the industry with lawsuits.

Instead of implementing their own regulatory framework, policymakers in the US are grappling with which agency should regulate the asset class. Furthermore, the Securities and Exchange Commission and its chairman, Gary Gensler, have taken action themselves to declare that all digital assets other than bitcoin are securities.

Congress has yet to officially classify them, and the uncertainty is causing an exodus of companies, talent, innovation and capital.

crypto market outlook

The crypto market remains in consolidation, gaining only 1% on the day. As a result, the total market capitalization at the time of writing remains around $1.21 trillion.

Bitcoin price has barely risen, and the asset was trading at $30,400 during the Asian session on Friday morning. It failed to break the resistance at this level but is yet to retrace again.

Ethereum, which has recently weakened, was stable at $1,846 on the day. The only altcoins showing any progress at the time of writing were Solana (SOL) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH).