UK may have crypto regulation within a year, says senior minister

cointelegraph.com:

The United Kingdom could lay out digital asset regulation within 12 months a British lawmaker claimed, saying the country wants to capitalize on the benefits that blockchain can bring to the private sector and economy.

In an April 17 CNBC interview, Andrew Griffith, the economic secretary to the U.K. Treasury said the long-term vision is to “let firms make the most of the opportunities from crypto assets” with sound crypto regulation.

For the first time in “decades,” Griffith claimed the U.K. government is now well-positioned to regulate crypto in a “pragmatic” and “proportionate” manner and appeared to make reference to the U.K.’s exit from the European Union:

It led the lawmaker to assert that the U.K. is now in a “growth” mindset to maximize the economic efforts brought by tech innovation in the private sector.

Griffith explained the crypto regulatory framework would mix existing financial asset laws with new crypto-specific rules.

He cited settlement using fiat-backed cryptocurrencies as an example which was included in the financial services bill. “So that's coming even sooner than the broader regulatory framework,” he added.

Related: Digital pound could co-exist with private stablecoins — UK central bank

Griffith said a potential rollout of the U.K.’s proposed central bank digital currency (CBDC) — nicknamed “Britcoin” by the public — has a much longer “lead time” and therefore won’t be seen within the next year.

Griffith added he wants to see a policy debate regarding privacy and the technology of the digital pound “thrashed out” to ensure that all concerns are addressed:

Brian Armstrong, the chief of crypto exchange Coinbase, met with Griffith earlier this week while he was in London to give a speech on how the