UK Undermines 'Crypto Hub' Vision As U.S. Approves Bitcoin Spot ETF

The deadline for UK firms to comply with new Financial Conduct Authority rules passed on 8 January 2024, in the same week that the US Securities and Exchange Commission approved spot bitcoin ETFs. The rules classed bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as “restricted mass market investments” and included a cooling-off period, appropriateness tests and a restricted-investor declaration, for most retail investors, limiting such investments to 10% of net assets.

The article argues this undermined then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s aim of making the UK a “crypto hub”, as businesses moved to the UAE and Switzerland. Jamie McNaught of Solidi said customers had to sell before the deadline, possibly incurring capital gains tax, or lie on their applications. Guy Turner of The Coin Bureau said the company had moved to Dubai in 2022 over banking problems. Industry figures argued that the FCA had largely ignored concerns raised during the consultation process.