Under former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the UK took a number of steps to promote the growth of the Web3 sector, positioning itself to compete with Dubai and Hong Kong as the leading Web3 hub. In a recent update, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has set a deadline of 2026 to finalize its crypto legislation.
The FCA’s proposed rules will focus on ensuring a fair, transparent market for crypto assets, free from manipulation and exploitation. These rules will apply to crypto exchanges, digital asset lending providers and stablecoin operators within the UK Bloomberg report Said.
Matthew Long, director of payments and digital assets at the FCA, published a post on the official website detailing the FCA’s roadmap to crypto regulations.
“We want our arrangements to consider the unique characteristics of crypto and work in the best interests of the customer. That’s why we gathered to discuss what the future arrangements for trading platforms and intermediaries should look like – exploring topics such as location policy, operational flexibility requirements, conflicts of interest and order matching and execution,”
Throughout this year, the FCA has participated in a number of roundtable discussions to gather input from investors and regulators on necessary crypto regulations.
According to the FCA, the discussions revealed strong interest in separating crypto regulations for wholesale and retail use cases. The topic of international standards for crypto activities also attracted significant attention. The FCA believes that establishing a uniform global rulebook for the crypto sector could help reduce the regulatory burden for individual countries.
“Participants thought that exchanges that issue their own tokens or run other activities, such as brokerage and market making, pose the most significant conflicts of interest. Although there is still work to be done, we believe the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) is leading the implementation of international crypto regulatory standards,” Long said.
The crypto sector is currently valued at $3.21 trillion (roughly Rs. 2,71,09,156 crores), with Bitcoin reaching historic highs close to $100,000 (roughly Rs. 84 lakhs). The surge in crypto prices follows the return of Donald Trump to the White House as the 47th President of the United States. During his campaign, Trump suggested that the US could designate Bitcoin as a reserve asset, similar to gold.
Given the current uncertainty over crypto regulations in the US, the UK is accelerating efforts to finalize its own laws aimed at regulating and legalizing the crypto sector in preparation for future global growth.