Speaking at the Financial Times Digital Asset Summit in London on Tuesday, Emma Reynolds, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, emphasized that while the UK aims to become a crypto hub, it will take a different approach from both the U.S. and EU in regulating Bitcoin and crypto.
“We don’t think that’s appropriate for our market,” Reynolds said regarding a national Bitcoin reserve. “We understand that’s what the U.S. is going for, but that’s not the plan for us.”
The statement comes as the UK government prepares to implement a new regulatory framework for Bitcoin and crypto by the end of 2025. Rather than adopting the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) legislation or following the U.S. reserve strategy, the UK plans to regulate within its existing financial services framework.
Reynolds noted that the UK has established a “senior official level working group” with the U.S. to discuss cooperation on Bitcoin and crypto, with a regulatory forum scheduled for June. This follows recent meetings between the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
The UK’s approach focuses on regulating Bitcoin and crypto “within the regulatory perimeter that traditional financial services firms operate,” following a “same risk, same regulatory approach” principle.
Reynolds acknowledged the challenges in regulating certain aspects of Bitcoin and crypto, particularly Bitcoin’s decentralized nature. “There’s only so much the government can do in that regard,” she said. “We understand that some of this stuff is a little bit amorphous, and the decentralized stuff is particularly difficult.”
At press time, Bitcoin trades at $93,857, down 0.45% over the past 24 hours, as the market digests the UK’s regulatory stance.
