Former UK Chancellor Philip Hammond has warned the country is falling behind the European Union (EU) as a financial centre for digital assets.
Hammond, who served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer between 2016 and 2019, made the comments after becoming the new chair of crypto exchange Copper.
Hammond told the Financial Times: “The UK needs to be leading in this area post-Brexit. It’s allowed itself to slip behind. The EU is also moving faster. There has to be appetite to take some measured risk.”
Copper was forced to register in Switzerland last year after withdrawing its application from the UK, claiming the Financial Conduct Authority was too slow to make a decision.
Hammond added: “We are very much hoping to migrate back to London, post-Brexit, the UK needs a strong financial services sector. We need to work out how to become the location of choice for trading in new asset classes.”
Plans are in place for the UK treasury to reform regulations surrounding the cryptocurrency industry, described by ministers as a way to create “effective regulation” to help make the UK a global hub for crypto asset technology and encourage businesses to invest.
Research finance platform Solaris found £7.5m worth of crypto transactions took place in London between January 2019 and September 2022, while Paris recorded a sum of £22m in the same period, the largest value of transactions in Europe.
Spain’s Capital Madrid came in second, recording £16.8m worth of transactions. Berlin was third with £16m, followed by Sofia in Bulgaria with £13.8m.
Looking for your next crypto casino? Check out: Bitcasino, Gamb.co or FortuneJack.