UK has a shocking response to Bitcoin reserves

The UK has ruled out the possibility of having a Strategic Bitcoin or crypto reserve, unlike the U.S.

On May 6, speaking at the Financial Times Digital Asset Summit in London, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Emma Reynolds, MP, said, “We don't think that's appropriate for our market.”

Reynolds said the U.S. has changed course under President Trump but added: “That’s not the plan for us.” Although the U.K. isn’t as quick to follow Washington’s lead on Bitcoin accumulation, it is throwing in with the U.S. when it comes to regulatory cooperation, Reynolds explained.

She also noted that talks between British and American officials were continuing and a “regulatory forum” was in the works and planned for a June debut.

As per DeCrypt, rather than a reserve, the UK is considering more immediate uses for blockchain. Reynolds said that the government is currently seeking a provider to issue sovereign debt via distributed ledger technology, with the contract due to be signed in the late summer.

The UK is also going in a different direction to the EU’s MiCA framework, preferring a more principles-based approach grounded in its current financial regulation. The MiCA regulation applies to cryptocurrency issuers, including stablecoins, utility tokens, and asset-referenced tokens.

“Same risk, same regulatory approach,” Reynolds said, arguing that crypto firms ought to be governed by regulations, similar to traditional finance.

However, she acknowledged that completely decentralized systems such as Bitcoin raise their own set of regulatory challenges. “Some of this stuff is a little bit amorphous,” Reynolds said, adding, “There’s only so much the government can do.”

View Comments