This year, the UK government announced the ‘crypto-assets task force’ as part of a strategy to boost the nation’s growing FinTech sector.
Philip Hammond, Chancellor of the Exchequer, also announced at The International Fintech Conference, held in London, that a new UK-Australia ‘FinTech bridge’ was being established to help UK enterprises expand internationally.
Matt Hancock, the secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, also announced at the conference that Tech City UK would be building a world-leading FinTech programme to operate across the country with the aim of supporting new companies in the sector. The task force, comprising staff from the Treasury, the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), will aim to make it easier for FinTech firms to follow complex regulations governing the sector and also help the UK manage the risk around virtual currencies.
Mr Hammond said the team would work on creating industry standards for facilitating fintech-bank collaborations, as well as supporting innovation throughout the industry. “From the square mile in London to Scotland’s Silicon Glen, the UK leads the world in harnessing the power of FinTech as we create an economy fit for the future,” the chancellor said.
At the beginning of March 2018, Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, said that crypto-currencies should be regulated, rather than banned, and held to the same standards as the conventional financial industry.
Mr Hancock said: “This new nationwide FinTech programme will help start-ups right across the country flourish in the future and spread the benefits of this pioneering technology.”
Read the full article in Relocate Global Magazine here.
