UK lawmakers voted to include crypto rules in finance regulation bill
Quick Take
- The UK parliament voted to include new amendments on digital assets in a finance bill on Oct. 25.
- The bill, which already had stablecoin regulation provisions, raises the bar for the UK’s crypto regulatory framework.
UK lawmakers voted to include recently added amendments that expand the regulatory oversight of crypto assets in a major finance bill.
The revised bill will help clarify that powers relating to financial promotion and regulated activities can be relied on to regulate crypto assets and activities relating to crypto assets, Andrew Griffith, financial services minister, said on Oct. 21, when the amendments were first added. The bill also defines what a crypto asset is, Griffith said.
The vote on the Financial Services and Markets Bill passed in the UK's lower house of parliament on October 25 and now faces further rounds of scrutiny from lawmakers. If passed into law, the new amendments will broaden the country’s framework for regulating crypto, handing more oversight powers to the Financial Conduct Authority and Treasury.
At the moment, the FCA relies in part on anti-money laundering requirements when deciding on the registrations of crypto firms.
The Financial Services and Markets bill's framework already focuses on stablecoins, and the broader framework will tie the UK closer to the EU’s comprehensive Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation.
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