Coinbase to help UK on Web3 hub as Treasury reportedly revives blockchain taskforce

Brian Armstrong will give suggestions to the U.K. on regulations, taxes and ensuring collaboration between the banking and FinTech sectors.

The United Kingdom could “turbocharge” its crypto sector and be an “innovation hub for the Web3 economy” as part of a vision laid out by cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.

The comments by the exchange coincide with an April 17 Sky News report that the U.K. Treasury is set to revive the Asset Management Taskforce with a focus on developing crypto regulation in collaboration with the private sector.

In an April 16 blog post, Coinbase emphasized the firm is working “seriously” in the U.K. and Europe. It praised the progressive regulatory efforts taking place in the region and added its CEO, Brian Armstrong, will speak at a London FinTech conference and provide nine recommendations on how the U.K. can “cement its place” as a Web3 hub.

“The U.K. has been one of our fastest-growing user markets, and the E.U. is this week set to adopt the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation, which will bring in a new licensing regime across the 27 member states,” the post reads, adding:

“In short, things are happening in Europe that are edging the region ahead and, when it comes to embracing the digital economy, the region is preparing for a seismic change in how it uses and thinks about money.”

The post also included a brief rundown of Armstrong’s nine recommendations for the U.K. government.

The list includes ensuring collaboration between the banking and FinTech sectors, developing a cross-departmental strategy for tech innovation and economy digitization along with quickly establishing a regulatory framework for crypto.

Additionally, topics such as developing “a regulatory framework that promotes stablecoins,” providing clarity on tax treatment for crypto assets and creating a plan to “bring de-centralized ID (DiD) to fruition,” were also outlined by Coinbase

Leading up to his April 18 speech, Armstrong revealed via Twitter on April 16 that he met with the U.K.’s Economic Secretary and City Minister, Andrew Griffith.

The Coinbase CEO stated that he raised concerns over the de-banking of some crypto firms in the U.K. and the negative implications of the 24-hour “cooling off” for investments in financial product promotions that came into effect under the “Financial Promotion regime” in February.

A few points we shared:

1. Some UK banks are blocking fiat payments to crypto companies which is not ok.
Good fraud controls make sense, a blanket ban does not (and is likely not lawful). Needs further education and collaboration.

2. The Financial Promotion regime goes too far…

— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) April 17, 2023

UK Treasury to revive Asset Management Taskforce

Under the guidance of City Minister Griffith, the Treasury will soon revive the Asset Management Taskforce according to a report from Sky News U.K.

The Asset Management Taskforce was initially established in 2017 and was designed to encourage greater communication between the government, the FinTech and crypto sectors and the local financial regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

It appears the body has been relatively inactive over the past couple of years.

However, Sky News claims that talks will take place this week between the Treasury, FCA, fund management bosses and other stakeholders as the government looks for ways to bolster the local crypto asset sector.

Notably, on April 17 Griffith spoke on the first day of the UK FinTech Week conference in London and emphasized the government is focused on “fostering innovation by making the U.K a safe jurisdiction for crypto asset activity.”

“We set out plans in our wide-ranging consultation published in February, and we want to proactively support the use of distributed ledger technology and tokenization where it makes sense,” he said.