Crypto is on everyone’s minds – but most MPs aren’t interested

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Cryptocurrency might be tech’s most controversial topic right now, but in Parliament the hubbub has died down in recent months.

While the government has said it wants to be a “global hub” for crypto, proposed a raft of new regulations and is even lining up a Royal Mint NFT, new analysis has found that MPs remain, on the whole, disengaged with the sector.

Only one-in-50 MPs – 14 of them – has even mentioned crypto since March, according to analysis of social media and parliamentary statements in the last quarter, a fall on the previous three months when the figure was roughly one-in-30 .

MPs’ sluggish engagement with crypto has some industry watchers concerned that the UK could fall behind on regulating the industry, which could have a knock-on effect on retail investors and institutional adoption. Elsewhere, G7 leaders have called for swift regulations to be introduced on crypto after the industry saw a crash in May, while across the Atlantic, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said it was “highly appropriate” for legislation around stablecoins to be published this year.

However, in the UK, lawmakers that show interest in grappling with the nascent sector are still in the minority. In the 12 months to March, only one-in-14 MPs had mentioned any terms relating to cryptocurrencies or blockchain in Parliament or on social media, according to the research by SEC Newgate.

The latest findings suggest that MPs, on the whole, are still agnostic – with a few notable exceptions. Matt Hancock has been particularly vocal, and the former health secretary recently declared in City AM that it was his “mission” to make the UK love crypto. He said: “It’s right to say you may lose everything, but you may not right?”

Separately, SNP MP Martin Docherty-Hughes has noted that technology could help play a part in building trust and transparency in voting systems, while trade minister Penny Mordaunt has also engaged on the subject after holding a meeting with the president of the Texas Blockchain Council, Lee Bratcher in April.

City minister John Glenn has been one of the few to engage on a regulatory front, saying: “We see enormous potential in crypto, and we want to give ourselves every chance to take maximum advantage. We aren’t going to lower our standards, but we are going to maintain our technologically-neutral approach.”

And Chancellor Rishi Sunak said in a recent speech: “If crypto technologies are going to be a big part of the future, then we — the UK — want to be in, and in on the ground floor.”

The lack of engagement stands in sharp contrast to the energetic pace of interest in digital assets among major financial institutions that continue to invest heavily in their digital asset-based offerings. Most recently, Nomura said it would launch a new digital assets subsidiary to provide institutional clients with crypto trading services.

READ Nomura to launch new firm to scale up offerings in crypto, DeFi and NFTs

Others have made plays in the digital assets space in recent months too: HSBC took a stake in metaverse gaming firm Sandbox in March, private equity giant Apollo hired JPMorgan metaverse head Christine Moy in April, and Grayscale said it would launch its first European ETF, the Grayscale Future of Finance UCITS, in May.

Subsequently, as both retail and institutional interest in the new asset class grows, the heads of the Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve have both advocated for new laws to curb the industry’s reputation as a ‘Wild West’. The Financial Conduct Authority has run so-called ‘crypto sprints’ with industry figures to help boost its knowledge on the sector as it works on how to regulate it.

Ian Taylor, executive director of trade body Crypto UK, said: “Education remains a top priority as we seek to raise awareness and improve understanding of the opportunities for crypto and digital assets and to dispel some of the myths and misunderstandings around the sector.

“The UK crypto sector overwhelmingly supports regulation and we are keen for policymakers to engage with us and the wider sector in terms of developing future policy and regulation for crypto and digital assets.”

To contact the author of this story with feedback or news, email Alexander Daniel

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