UK Crypto, Stablecoin Laws Approved by Parliament's Upper House

U.K. parliamentarians have voted through a new bill that could recognize crypto as a regulated activity in the country.

The approval of the Financial Services and Markets Bill (FSMB) on Monday by Parliament’s upper chamber, the House of Lords, means the bill is going to enter the final stages before it is put into law.

The wide-ranging bill, spanning over 340 pages, was introduced in July to take advantage of Brexit freedoms and give regulators more power over the U.K. financial system. While the original bill included a proposal to regulate stablecoins under the country’s payments rules, amendments to treat all crypto as a regulated activity and measures to supervise crypto promotions were added later as the bill progressed through Parliament.

The U.K. wants the FSMB to give regulators the powers that they need to be able to set crypto rules that the Treasury, the government's finance arm, has been consulting on. New specific rules for the crypto sector could come within 12 months, Economic Secretary to the Treasury Andrew Griffith told CNBC in April. The U.K. is trying to catch up with the European Union, which recently finalized its Markets in Crypto Assets regulation that has a predominant focus on stablecoins.

Next, the FSMB will be returned to the lower house of Parliament to agree on a final version. Once both houses agree on the document, it will be sent to the King to be approved and passed into law. The bill can be sent back and forth between the chambers of Parliament until a consensus is reached.

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