Coinbase to help UK on Web3 hub as Treasury reportedly revives blockchain task force
The UK could “turbocharge” its crypto sector and be an “innovation hub for the Web3 economy” as part of a vision laid out by cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.
The comments from the exchange coincide with a Sky News report on April 17 that the UK Treasury is set to revive the Asset Management Taskforce with a focus on developing crypto regulation in partnership with the private sector.
In a blog post on April 16, Coinbase emphasized that the firm is working “seriously” in the UK and Europe. It praised the progressive regulatory efforts taking place in the region and added that CEO Brian Armstrong will speak at a London FinTech conference and make nine recommendations on how the UK can “cement its place” as a Web3 hub.
“The UK has been one of our fastest growing user markets and the EU is this week set to adopt the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation, which will bring in a new licensing regime across the 27 member states,” it reads, adding:
“In short, things are happening in Europe that are leading the region forward, and in embracing the digital economy, the region is preparing for a seismic shift in how it spends and thinks about money.”
The post also included a brief summary of Armstrong’s nine recommendations to the British government.
The list includes ensuring cooperation between the banking and FinTech sectors, developing a cross-departmental strategy for technological innovation and financial digitization as well as quickly establishing a regulatory framework for crypto.
In addition, topics such as developing “a regulatory framework that promotes stablecoins”, providing clarity on tax treatment for crypto-assets and creating a plan to “bring Decentralized ID (DiD) to reality” were outlined by Coinbase
Ahead of his April 18 speech, Armstrong revealed via Twitter on April 16 that he met the UK’s Economic Secretary and Cities Minister, Andrew Griffith.
The Coinbase CEO stated that he raised concerns over the de-banking of some crypto firms in the UK and the negative implications of the 24-hour “cooling off” for investments in financial product promotions that came into force under the “Financial Promotion Regime” in February.
UK Treasury to revive Asset Management Taskforce
Under the guidance of City Minister Griffith, the Treasury will soon revive the Asset Management Taskforce according to a report by Sky News UK
The Asset Management Taskforce was originally established in 2017 and was designed to encourage greater communication between the government, the FinTech and crypto sectors and the local financial regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
It seems that the body has been relatively inactive for the past couple of years.
Related Bank of England is preparing for a bigger role for tokenization in finance, the official says
However, Sky News claims that talks will take place this week between the Treasury, the FCA, fund management chiefs and other stakeholders as the government looks for ways to strengthen the local crypto-asset sector.
Notably, on April 17, Griffith spoke at the first day of the UK FinTech Week conference in London and emphasized that the government is focused on “fostering innovation by making the UK a safe jurisdiction for crypto-asset activity.”
“We set out plans in our wide-ranging consultation published in February, and we want to proactively support the use of distributed ledger technology and tokenization where it makes sense,” he said.
