The United Kingdom reportedly will consider a comprehensive regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency sector in early 2025.
The Labour Party, which came to power in July, will draft rules that will include stablecoins and staking services, Bloomberg reported Thursday (Nov. 21).
“Doing everything in a single phase is simpler, and it just makes more sense,” Economic Secretary to the Treasury Tulip Siddiq said Thursday at a conference, according to the report.
Siddiq said at the conference that, as part of the government’s plans, stablecoins would no longer be considered under the country’s existing payments services regulation, and staking services would have their current legal uncertainty removed, per the report.
The U.K. is working to keep up with the United States and Europe in the crypto sector at a time when U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is wooing crypto businesses and when the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation is about to be implemented, according to the report.
The need for clear regulatory frameworks is one of the most pressing issues facing the crypto and blockchain space, PYMNTS reported in July. Regulatory clarity is crucial for the mainstream adoption and growth of cryptocurrencies.
In the U.S., the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory bodies are working on frameworks for cryptocurrencies, but there is still uncertainty. The EU’s MiCA regulation is a step toward a more unified regulatory approach.
The EU’s implementation of MiCA’s provision for stablecoins put the EU at the forefront of crypto regulation, PYMNTS reported in July. Having stricter disclosure requirements, regular audits of crypto firms and more robust capital reserve requirements will help build trust and transparency across the marketplace.
In the U.S., bitcoin and the global cryptocurrency market rose to record highs after the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election, with traders expecting the crypto sector to benefit from Trump’s support of cryptocurrency. Bitcoin rose more than 40% after the election.
This week saw media reports that Trump’s social media company is considering buying crypto trading firm Bakkt and that Trump was meeting privately with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong to discuss the incoming administration’s personnel appointments.
Standard Chartered Bank Hong Kong (SCBHK), Animoca Brands and HKT have agreed to form a joint venture to issue a stablecoin backed by the Hong Kong dollar.
The new joint venture intends to apply for a license from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) under a new regulatory regime, subject to the passage of the Stablecoins Bill, the companies said in a Monday (Feb. 17) press release.
Hong Kong’s stablecoin bill is under review and, if enacted, will require stablecoin issuers to obtain an HKMA license and comply with reserve and price stability requirements, Cointelegraph reported Monday.
The joint venture will benefit from Standard Chartered’s bank-grade infrastructure, rigorous governance and experience working with stablecoin issuers globally; Animoca Brands’ expertise and extensive network in the Web3 space; and HKT’s mobile wallet expertise, according to the companies’ press release.
The three companies have been working together in an HKMA stablecoin issuer sandbox that was launched in July to explore how stablecoins can play a role in the development of financial markets and payments, per the release.
Their joint venture’s Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin will be designed to enhance both domestic and cross-border payments and to serve both consumers and merchants, the release said.
“By leveraging the bank’s and our partners’ core strengths, we aim to launch a stablecoin that can be used securely by institutions and individuals across a wide range of use cases,” Mary Huen, CEO, Hong Kong and Greater China & North Asia, Standard Chartered, said in the release. “We are dedicated to staying at the forefront in driving FinTech innovation alongside the regulators, partners and clients, further consolidating the role of Hong Kong as an international finance center.”
In another, separate effort, Standard Chartered was among the firms that participated in a pilot project called the Canton Network that explored the potential of a privacy-enabled open blockchain network allowing for real-time settlement and immediate reconciliation across counterparty systems.
In September, the HKMA said that its second phase of testing had begun for its e-HKD Pilot, where 11 groups of firms are exploring tokenized assets, programmability and offline payments.