Digital Asset Summit Day 3: UK policymakers say they are all-in on crypto

The highlights of the final day of the Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit in London? Lots of politics and regulation talk, plus a four-legged guest.

More than 1,500 crypto professionals, traditional finance executives and global legislators descended upon the Hilton London Metropole this week to hear from the leading voices in finance and crypto.

The third and final day of the conference started off with a bang Wednesday morning when the discussion turned to the upcoming US presidential election.

“I will fight Donald Trump, toe to toe, until the election,” Anthony Scaramucci, founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, told a packed audience during the first panel discussion of the day.

“The bitcoiners love the guy,” Scaramucci, who worked under the former President as the White House Communications Director for a ten-day stint in 2017, added. “I would take bad policy over something that would knock out the separations of power.”

Scaramucci wasn’t only critical of the Republican presidential nominee — he also took aim at Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler.

“He’s very politically motivated,” Scaramucci said. “I hate that.”

Lord Chris Holmes, member of the United Kingdom House of Lords, said during a separate session that the UK is learning from other countries, including those that have moved quickly on implementing crypto policy and those which have hardly moved at all.

“We have such an opportunity in the UK because we’ve seen what’s happening in the [European Union]…and indeed to a large extent what isn’t happening in the United States,” Lord Holmes said.

Policymakers are gaining a better understanding of the crypto industry and its benefits, Dr. Lisa Cameron, member of the UK Parliament, said, and engaging with the industry is becoming common practice for her and her colleagues.

“I make it very much a point to come to these events to learn as much as to speak,” Dr. Cameron said. “It’s actually the digital revolution that we’re on the cusp of, and we need to make sure that the UK is at the helm of it.”

But, of course, a Lord will still stick out from the pack at a crypto conference.

“Just to show you how tuned-in to the tech ecosystem I am, I’m wearing a tie,” Lord Holmes mused, addressing the mostly T-shirt clad crowd. “But on the upside, I did come with a dog.”

Nancy, Lord Holmes’ guide dog — although asleep at her owners’ feet for the majority of her time on the main stage — perked up when the audience laughed.

Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

The Breakdown: Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily.
Empire: Crypto news and analysis to start your day.
Forward Guidance: The intersection of crypto, macro and policy.
0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox.
Lightspeed: All things Solana.
The Drop: Apps, games, memes and more.
Supply Shock: Bitcoin, bitcoin, bitcoin.