Under the previous UK Conservative government, regulations for stablecoins and cryptocurrency staking were planned to be in place by now. The new Labour government wants to provide more space for innovation, so it is not prioritizing stablecoin legislation. That’s according to a speech this week by the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Tulip Siddiq. All crypto regulations will happen in a single phase. Today the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a roadmap for consultations which points to legislation coming into force in 2026, probably late that year. The FCA also published the results of a recent crypto survey.
Despite a single go-live target, the consultations are being split into four groups. Discussion papers on admission and disclosures and market abuse are expected this quarter, with a consultation in Q3 of next year.
As part of a blog post, the FCA raised the challenge of how decentralized issuers are expected to disclose data. It’s likely that crypto exchanges will need to provide information to their customers based on publicly available data. That’s not a bad plan. Given tokens will want exchange listings, and exchanges won’t want to do a lot of work, there’s a good chance that decentralized projects will ensure adequate data is available.
That said, the crypto survey found that exchanges are only the fourth most important source of research. Online forums are first, then friends and family, followed by social media.
The other three sets of discussion and consultation papers are for:
- Trading platforms, intermediation, lending, staking and prudential exposures
- Stablecoins, custody and prudential (capital, liquidity, risk management)
- Conduct and firm standards for regulated activities.
Crypto survey findings
The YouGuv survey found that 12% of UK adults now hold crypto, up from 10% in 2022. The average value of crypto held by investors increased from £1,595 to £1,842. Around a third of people believe they can complain to the FCA if there’s a problem, despite crypto being unregulated.
Advertising is moderately effective. 60% of those who saw an advert said it had no impact. Only 2% who had not previously considered buying, subsequently bought, with another 10% buying who were already thinking about it. Advertising managed to discourage 9% of viewers.
Bitcoin was recognized by 78% of people, with Ethereum by 31% and Dogecoin at 30%. There’s a big drop after that with Solana at 11% and TRON at 10%. That includes people who are not crypto investors. When the sample only considered those who already hold crypto-assets, Ethereum and Dogecoin scored only a little behind Bitcoin.
