UK Proposes Bringing Crypto Under Regulatory Eye

The proposed amendments come after the UK sought to regulate stablecoins as a form of payment in July

article-image

Houses of Parliament in London | Source: Shutterstock

share

key takeaways

  • Amendment to Financial Services and Markets Bill clarifies “powers relating to financial promotion and regulated activities” would regulate crypto
  • Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said in August it was waiting on laws from Parliament about how to regulate crypto marketing

A proposed amendment to the UK’s Financial Services and Markets Bill would bring crypto under its scope.

The new clause, introduced Friday by Parliament member Andrew Griffith, is meant “to clarify that the powers relating to financial promotion and regulated activities can be relied on to regulate cryptoassets and activities relating to cryptoassets.”

The UK’s Treasury said in July it would seek to regulate “certain types” of stablecoins as a form of payment following the collapse of Terra’s algorithmic stablecoin earlier this year. The country introduced the Financial Services and Markets Bill to Parliament that month.

Financial Markets Infrastructure Sandboxes, included in the proposed bill, would also be created in a bid to allow firms to test new technologies and practices.

The proposed amendment comes after the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) finalized stronger rules in August to ensure that firms marketing “high-risk investments” include better risk warnings.

The agency noted at the time that the regulations would not apply to crypto promotions until Parliament confirms via legislation how crypto marketing would be brought under the FCA’s remit. 

“These rules are likely to follow the same approach as those for other high-risk investments,” the FCA said in the August statement. “Crypto remains high risk so people need to be prepared to lose all their money if they choose to invest in cryptoassets.”

The European Union, which separated from the UK when Brexit took effect in 2020, has similarly moved to regulate crypto, as lawmakers voted in favor of the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets bill (MiCA) earlier this month.

MiCA, expected to go into effect in 2024, is set to oversee all cryptoassets that are not regulated by existing financial services legislation.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Featured.png

Research

Helium stands at a pivotal moment in its evolution as a decentralized wireless network, balancing rapid growth, economic restructuring, and global expansion. With accelerated growth in domestic DAUs and Hotspots supporting its network, Helium is leveraging strategic partnerships and innovative proposals to scale internationally. The recent implementation of HIP 138, “Return to HNT,” has unified its token economy under HNT, simplifying participation and strengthening liquidity, while HIP 139’s phase-out of CBRS refocuses efforts on scalable Wi-Fi offload. Meanwhile, governance shifts under HIP 141 raise questions about centralization as Nova Labs consolidates control over the roadmap.

article-image

EVM bottlenecks fundamentally hold back Ethereum’s scalability

article-image

In 2011, WikiLeaks faced a financial blockade imposed by the US government. It was Bitcoin’s first major test.

article-image

Kado’s founder Emery Andrew spoke to Blockworks about the acquisition and what’s next for the team

article-image

LayerZero’s Bryan Pellegrino chatted with Blockworks about the firm’s next steps and its 10-year runway

article-image

Colosseum co-founder Matty Taylor is seeing “high-performance [Solana] founders showing a lot of interest in private trading technology”

article-image

Executives weigh the growth potential they see in the public stock and private credit/equities arenas