Opinion by: Daniel Taylor, head of policy at Zumo
We’re approaching five years since the “global crypto hub UK” promise, and the country has taken plenty of flak for slow regulation, low approval rates and what critics call nannying “positive frictions.” That criticism has left consumers with less access and fewer choices than in some other markets, and political leaders have often appeared dismissive, offering little beyond risk warnings.
But the picture isn’t all black and white. The UK remains Western Europe’s largest crypto economy. Coinbase ranks the UK as its second biggest market after the U.S., and UK residents are active across DeFi. That demand from the ground is forcing change, albeit gradually.
Market signals show a quiet pivot. Retail investors can again access crypto exchange-traded products. The U.S. and UK are collaborating on digital-asset policy. The Financial Conduct Authority has begun to speed up applications, and sterling-denominated stablecoins are starting to appear. Together with legal and regulatory developments, these moves point to a significantly improved operating environment within 12–24 months.
Key milestones are in sight: activity-based rules finalized by 2026 and a live regulatory framework by 2027; legal recognition of digital assets as property has received final Royal Assent. Those changes will remove structural obstacles that have held the market back.
For businesses, that clarity matters. The incoming UK framework will set out how to custody crypto, run trading platforms, issue stablecoins and offer staking services. Some proposed protections go further than elsewhere: placing customer assets held by third-party platforms into legal trusts would protect investor property rights — a response to the unsecured-creditor failures seen in 2022.
For multinational exchanges, a branch-subsidiary proposal could allow access to the UK retail market while preserving global order-book connections and allocating responsibilities between home and host regulators. In adjacent areas, proposals include central bank backstops and direct Bank of England accounts for systemic sterling stablecoins, and tokenized-fund rules that enable native issuance and stablecoin settlement. These measures seek to leverage the UK’s respected legal and financial systems to foster innovation.
That said, there’s more to do. Beyond setting rules, the UK should embrace crypto’s broader potential: use tokens to enable new capital-raising models; support genuine self-custody alongside regulated intermediaries; and harness cryptography to advance privacy, individual sovereignty and seamless global value transfer.
In short: while progress has been uneven and the politics sometimes skeptical, the UK is quietly repositioning itself. With clearer regulation, legal certainty and emerging market infrastructure, the UK is open for crypto business — and has a chance to compete on innovation as well as investor protection.
Opinion by: Daniel Taylor, head of policy at Zumo.
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