U.K. Poised to Have a Pro-Crypto Prime Minister PlatoBlockchain Data Intelligence. Vertical Search. Ai.

U.K. Poised to Have a Pro-Crypto Prime Minister

Time Stamp: July 29, 2022 12:31 AM

Two of the remaining contenders for the next British prime minister, Liz Truss, secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth, & development affairs, and former chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, both have expressed support for crypto.

Sunak and Truss are vying to succeed Prime Minister Boris Johnson as the Conservative Party’s and the nation’s leader, and their stances on digital assets are likely to have an impact on financial policy.

With the aim to turn the United Kingdom into a major center for the cryptocurrency industry, Sunak asked the Royal Mint to produce a nonfungible token while Johnson was in office.

Sunak, a former member of Parliament and chancellor from 2020 until his resignation in July, declared that the U.K. government would promote financial technology, including stablecoins and central bank digital currencies, to keep up with innovation.

Additionally, he is the driving force behind a number of planned financial services reforms that encourage the use of stablecoins and cryptocurrencies.

“Over the next few years, we will implement a sweeping set of financial services reforms. Sharpening our competitive advantage in financial services, continuing to deliver for our communities and working internationally to set higher global standards.”

In an effort to encourage the U.K. to adopt cryptocurrency, Truss, who has served as the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Affairs since 2021 and the Minister for Women and Equalities since 2019, under three prime ministers, named for an anti-regulatory strategy to the industry in 2018.

The MP established a digital trade network in 2020 while serving as Secretary of State for International Trade. Among its initiatives was the support of fintech companies that “enable[d] digitalization and resilience in important export markets.”

“We should welcome #cryptocurrencies in a way that doesn’t constrain their potential. Liberate free enterprise areas by removing regulations that restrict prosperity.”

In spite of Johnson’s anticipated departure, policy choices have gone forward in the U.K. On July 20, Nadhim Zahawi, the new chancellor of the Exchequer who took over for Sunak, introduced the Financial Services & Markets Bill, which included a stablecoin regulatory framework.

The House of Commons Treasury Committee also launched an examination into the use of cryptocurrency in the U.K., inviting comments from citizens of that nation.

The Decision for the PM to be Done on September 5

By September 5, when Johnson will formally resign, the Conservative Party is anticipated to choose between Sunak and Truss as their new leader.

The televised discussion between the two contenders on Tuesday was halted when moderator Kate McCann passed out live on television.

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