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According to the UK Parliament, “MPs explore the Government’s plans to make the UK a global hub for crypto, while exploring the potential benefits and risks of crypto assets for businesses and consumers.”
Andrew Griffith, Member of Parliament and HM Treasury Economic Secretary, says stablecoin is a gateway to central bank digital currency (CBDC), only crypto can ‘disrupt’ settlements. Along with his colleague, he spoke before a hearing of the U.K. parliamentary Treasury Committee.
The recent negative events in the crypto industry did not affect the efforts of the United Kingdom as the country remains committed to becoming a world crypto industry hub. Griffith told a meeting of the UK Parliament Treasury Committee on January 10th, 2023, that it is “the sector I have dedicated the most time to”.
The Statement
The UK MP said a stablecoin will likely serve as a “first use case of what is likely to be a wholesale settlement coin” in the “long runtime” leading up to the potential introduction of a CBDC. He defended the work being done on the wholesale stablecoin, saying stablecoins are “here now” and therefore in need of immediate attention.
He noted that it is not clear whether a CBDC would displace private stablecoins on the market if a CBDC were introduced. A retail British CBDC, if one were to be introduced, would be an anonymized and intermediated platform by design, Griffith added.
It is “not the government’s position that this [crypto-based technology] is an inevitability,” Griffith said, but he moreover added that current technology cannot solve issues in the financial sector like the settlement time “in a disruptive way,” as blockchain technology can.
“Removing that intermediary, certainly at the current evolution of the market, feels very premature.” The use cases for crypto-based wholesale fintech may be in ledgers and registers “in the middle office” for now, Griffith said.
Full regulation of crypto asset markets will not be achieved in 2023, Griffith assured a committee member. Legislation will adhere to the principle of “same asset, same regulation.”
On the other hand, according to The Evening Standard, “London’s Aquis stock exchange is poised to welcome its first new member of 2023 tomorrow with the listing of crypto trading app Tap Global.”
With a background in journalism, Ritika Sharma has worked with many reputed media firms focusing on general news such as politics and crime. She joined The Coin Republic as a reporter for crypto, and found a great passion for cryptocurrency, Web3, NFTs and other digital assets. She spends a lot of time researching and delving deeper into these concepts around the clock, and is a strong advocate for women in STEM.
