© Reuters. The UK is passing a law to “support the secure adoption” of cryptocurrenciesCryptoFácil – The United Kingdom announced on Thursday (29) that a “historic act” dealing with the regulation of cryptocurrencies in the country has received royal assent. According to an official statement, the “Financial Markets and Services Law of 2023” will fulfill the government’s vision to grow the economy. At the same time, it will create an open, sustainable and technologically advanced financial services sector.
Furthermore, the law would allow “the regulation of crypto assets to support their secure adoption in the UK” and promote the use of blockchain.
“The law enhances the UK’s competitiveness as a global financial center and delivers better outcomes for consumers and businesses alike,” the statement read.
UK to regulate cryptocurrency
The bill in question gives regulators the power to supervise cryptocurrencies and stablecoins. Actual approval consists of a purely procedural step that takes place after the approval of the legislators. But this step is necessary to actually make the bill into law.
The bill, which dates back to July 2022, won approval in Parliament’s upper house last week – the equivalent of the legislative chamber. While the bill was being debated in Parliament, amendments were added to treat all cryptocurrencies as a regulated activity and to supervise cryptocurrency promotions.
“2023 is proving to be a landmark year in reforming our financial services. This landmark legislation gives us control of our financial services rulebook. It supports UK businesses and consumers and drives growth,” said Treasury Secretary Andrew Griffiths.
Griffiths further emphasized that the new law introduces new secondary objectives for regulators to facilitate the growth and international competitiveness of the UK economy.
Among other topics, the law will increase scrutiny of financial services regulators to ensure clear accountability; Enable regulation of crypto assets to support their safe adoption in the UK and create “sandboxes” that can facilitate the use of new technologies such as blockchain in financial markets.
