UK to Issue New Crypto, Stablecoin Legislation by July, Minister Says

• The U.K. will issue new legislation for stablecoins as well as crypto staking, exchange and custody by June or July this year, Economic Secretary Bim Afolami said.
• The Conservative-party-led government has said it wants to make the U.K. a global hub for crypto and passed legislation last year to recognize crypto and stablecoins as regulated financial activities in the country.

The U.K. government is set to put forward legislation for stablecoins as well as for crypto staking, exchange and custody by June or July, Economic Secretary Bim Afolami said at the Innovate Finance Global Summit on Monday.

"We are now working at pace to deliver the legislation to put our final proposals for our regime in place," Afolami said. "Once it goes live, a whole host of crypto asset activities, including operating an exchange, taking custody of customers’ assets and other things, will come within the regulatory perimeter for the first time."

In 2023, the U.K. passed a landmark financial markets bill that laid the foundation for stablecoins and crypto broadly to be treated as regulated financial activities in the country. Local regulators, the Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England, both consulted on what a stablecoin regime would look like last February. The BoE said it would oversee stablecoin providers that were large enough to affect the financial system, while the FCA said it would regulate the wider crypto space.

Afolami teased the coming of secondary stablecoin legislation in February, adding that the government was pushing to get it done within six months.

The U.K.’s Conservative Party-led government has said it wanted to be a crypto huband has since consulted on its ambitions to regulate crypto. The U.K. is expected to have an election this year, which could see the Conservative party ousted and some crypto plans left in limbo, meaning the party could have a limited time left to execute its plans. The Labour party is the current favorite to win.

Read more: UK’s Planned Stablecoin Rules Need Reworking, Crypto Advocates Say