Will the re-elected UK government be able to create a bitcoin hub?Last week, the Conservative party was re- elected into power, in the United Kingdom. Back in April, the last government disclosed its stance on bitcoin.It stated “The government intends to apply anti- money laundering regulation to digital currency exchanges in the UK, to support innovation and prevent criminal use. The government will formally consult on the proposed regulatory approach early in the next parliament.”The Bank of England has taken a cautiously optimistic viewpoint on digital currency.
The One Bank Research Agenda came to a conclusion on February and stated,“While existing private digital currencies have economic flaws which make them volatile, the distributed ledger technology that their payment systems rely on may have considerable promise.”The Bank of England has also depicted the capability to create its own government- issued currency which based on bitcoin technology.No matter which party gains power, the Bank of England is supposed to support the economic policies. Yet, the Conservative Party and the Bank of England share the same optimism for bitcoin.George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer welcomed the report of Bank of England by tweeting the following,“Good that @bankofengland looking into digital currencies – need to ensure UK customers benefit from new tech and #Fintech firms flourish.
”All things considered, the government has set high expectations that incoming regulation should be favorable.As the new parliament was formed last week, the government originally promised a formal consultation, sometime this summer.A major promise from the government is the creation of standards for consumer protection. To date, the customers buying products and services have neglected their rights usually covered by the Consumer Rights Act.Marco Santori, global policy counsel at Blockchain and a leading expert on bitcoin law stated, “Blockchain has great hope for the UK as a digital currency- friendly jurisdiction.
We see the UK authorities learning from mistakes and successes from across the pond. In particular, the clarity and research evident in the Treasury’s recent publication on digital currencies demonstrates its true desire to get the details right, and to learn along with the industry in the process.”On March, the UK Treasury report has revealed that several initiatives involving digital currency will be in the near future.The report suggests that digital currencies have a huge role to play as payments technology in the future.Following the re- election of the Conservative Party, the United Kingdom is in quite a great position to potentially become a global bitcoin hub.This stems from a strong FinTech industry and promising regulation proposals from the government.
Yet, the bitcoin enthusiasts should not celebrate too early.The regulatory challenges of integrating bitcoin with traditional finance, in a global sense, may be a major pitfall.
