UK minister eyes stablecoin, staking legislation in next 6 months: Report

The UK wants lawmakers to approve rules on staking and stablecoins within the next six months, according to Economic Secretary to the Treasury Bim Afolami.

Bloomberg reported that Afolami, speaking at a Coinbase event, said the government was “pushing very hard” to get the legislation out the door. He added that he believed the six-month window is “doable” for lawmakers.

Afolami said, however, that a timeline for broader crypto regulation remains unclear because “there’s just a huge amount going on right now,” making him reluctant to commit to one possible timeline.

Afolami confirmed that the government wants to get “these things done as soon as possible,” the report said.

The UK government unveiled proposals for stablecoins and crypto in October of last year, saying at the time that it first planned to focus on stablecoins. It further added that it was aiming for legislation in early 2024. The government previously sought consultation on the regulatory structure for crypto.

Earlier this month, the UK published a proposal focused on increased communication between regulators and crypto firms. The 82-page paper said that, for the country to establish itself as a “competitive location,” the two need to work together on a regulatory framework.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak previously announced his intentions to make the UK a global crypto hub.

“It’s my ambition to make the UK a global hub for crypto asset technology, and the measures we’ve outlined today will help to ensure firms can invest, innovate and scale up in this country,” he said in 2022.

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority began cracking down on the marketing from crypto firms last year. It issued 450 warnings to firms in the final months of 2023 after instilling new rules to protect UK crypto customers.

“We remain concerned that regulated firms are not doing enough to meet their own obligations when providing support services, such as payment services, to crypto firms that are illegally promoting to UK consumers,” the FCA said in a February report.

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