Ripple executives this week urged the British government to speed up the development of encrypted currency laws so as not to lag behind the EU and the United States, thereby losing trillions of dollars worth of business opportunities. According to the Ripple European Policy Director, Matthew Osborne, the promotion of block chain technology in the financial sector through new regulations could make a significant contribution to the British economy. He stressed that “time is running out and that Britain must be shown to be open to business”.
At present, the EU is implementing a wide-ranging Code of Encoded Asset Markets to regulate the industry, while in the United States, former President Donald Trump has relaxed the rules of encrypted currency and the United States Congress is preparing to consider a Republican-backed stabilization currency bill. In contrast, the United Kingdom appears to be slow in this area.
Ripple argued that the code of encrypted currency could help Britain to enter the business dividend. By the end of the century, it is estimated that the value of stabilizing the currency market alone will have reached $2.8 trillion. However, in order to seize these opportunities, the British Government needs to act quickly, as other major jurisdictions, such as the European Union, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, have introduced regulatory frameworks for encrypted assets, while the United Kingdom has not yet kept pace.