UK Parliamentary Group Starts Crypto Inquiry to Form Policy Recommendations

A cross-party group of U.K. lawmakers has started an inquiry into the country's crypto industry with a focus on regulation.

The Crypto and Digital Assets All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) is looking to compose a report with policy recommendations and will share its findings with the government, the group said Thursday.

The group is canvassing views from industry experts, crypto service providers, regulators and members of government on a range of topics including the U.K.'s current approach to regulating digital assets, the role of local regulators, the potential of central bank digital currencies (CBDC) and concerns related to financial crime and crypto advertising.

The inquiry comes shortly after July's introduction of a bill that includes provisions to bring payments-focused digital assets like stablecoins – which are pegged to the value of real assets like fiat currencies – into the scope of regulation.

As the U.K. maps its own path following Brexit, the stablecoin rules are expected to be part of a larger effort by the government to transform the state into an international crypto hub. The APPG inquiry plans to assess if the current approach to regulating crypto is aligned with the government’s ambitions, and look at what other countries are doing, it said.

Following the recent crypto market slump, which has seen several companies collapse and billions of dollars lost, regulators worldwide are scrambling to set up more robust crypto rules. Other major economies including the European Union and the U.S. have rules for stablecoins as well as licensing frameworks for crypto service providers in the works.

"It's vital that the U.K. does not take its foot off the gas and that government and regulators keep to their commitments when it comes to crypto and digital assets,” Lisa Cameron, a Scottish National Party member of Parliament and the chair of the group, said in a statement.

The cross-party group, founded in 2021, is made up of members from both houses of Parliament. The APPG will be accepting written submissions on the detailed topics until Sept. 5.

Read more: The UK Lawmakers Who Want to Use Brexit to Rethink Crypto Rules