📣 Labour Party Captures the Attention of the Crypto Industry
posted 12 Jun 2024
As the UK heads toward an election, the cryptocurrency industry is expressing support for the Labour Party, which leads in all the polls. However, there is uncertainty about what policies to expect, as Labour has not been in power since 2010, a time when Bitcoin was just emerging.
Furthermore, Labour leader Keir Starmer tends to sidestep discussions on cryptocurrencies and avoids answering related queries. Despite this, Coinbase and other notable companies are attempting to influence Labour to recognize the importance of digital assets and to pre-emptively consider their regulation.
Everyone is trying to guess. Part of the answer here is quite possibly that Labour don’t know what they think yet,said Laura Navaratnam, UK policy lead at the Crypto Council for Innovation.
Two years ago, current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged to transform the UK into a leading cryptocurrency hub, yet the necessary legislation has not been enacted. Additionally, the first draft of this legislation is only expected by the end of this year, with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) remaining silent on the issue.
Meanwhile, Labour is actively pushing for the tokenization of real-world assets (stocks, bonds, etc.), aiming to increase the speed and transparency of trading. Some analysts believe that Labour could be persuaded by products designed to benefit people, rather than focusing solely on traditional corporate market competition.