UK lawmakers vote to regulate digital assets as financial instruments

Lawmakers in the British Parliament’s lower house voted in favor of recognizing cryptocurrency assets as regulated financial instruments and products, according to a Tuesday statement.

See related article: Markets: Bitcoin price back above US$20,000, Ether jumps as U.K. votes to regulate crypto

Fast facts

• A proposed amendment introduced by Parliamentarian Andrew Griffith is set to include crypto as part of services to be regulated in a pending Financial Services and Markets Bill, which broadly covers England’s post-Brexit economic strategy.

• The update includes the bill’s first definition of “crypto asset” and could prohibit companies from promoting investment in crypto assets and require all crypto providers to be authorized by financial regulators within the country.

• The Financial Services and Markets Bill must next proceed for its 3rd reading in the lower house of parliament before being passed to the upper house of for a final vote and approval.

• As of July, the existing bill already stipulated that stablecoins be subject to the same regulatory provision as other financial assets contained in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2022.

• The vote follows the swearing-in of Rishi Sunak as the country’s new prime minister on Monday. Sunak has previously expressed support for cryptocurrencies and the implementation of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) when serving as finance minister under Boris Johnson’s administration.

• UK Parliament also has an Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency bill on the table, which would empower law enforcement agencies to freeze and seize crypto assets involved in money laundering crimes.

See related article: How will the crypto tax debate play out in the UK?