Former chancellor George Osborne has said that the UK is being “left behind” by the government’s approach to cryptocurrency.
His comments, which were written in the Financial Times (FT) newspaper, echo those made by Riccardo Tordera, director of policy & government relations at The Payments Association, who said there is a “growing disconnect” between what current chancellor Rachel Reeves has said and the government’s current regulatory proposals.
Osborne, who served as chancellor of the exchequer from 2010 to 2016 and is currently a member of Coinbase’s advisory council, said that the UK could become irrelevant in a revolution “reminiscent of Nigel Lawson’s Big Bang in the 1980s.”
He added that the UK is far from being an early adopter of cryptocurrency, suggesting it has already missed the first generation of the technology.
While many politicians since his term have pledge to support cryptocurrency, Osborne said that “next to nothing” has happened. He said that the “giant window of opportunity” that opened for Britain while the US authorities were sceptical of the technology has now closed.
Osborne highlighted that in the US, people can by a bitcoin ETF through the asset manager BlackRock, but retail investors are banned from doing so in the UK. While around 8ight million people in the UK have purchased cryptocurrencies, Osborne argued that the country is missing out as the companies handling this wealth are overseas.
Conditions for innovation
Tordera said that the UK risks undermining its competitiveness and missing out on the substantial economic benefits that stablecoins can deliver should the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) continue on its “overly restrictive path.”
“If we want to grow the economy, the priority shouldn’t be on selling Bitcoin, but on building the right conditions for innovation—unlocking revenue potential, job creation and the infrastructure for a digital-era ‘big bang’,” he added. “Stablecoins are critical to that vision.”
Tordera said that the UK has a “generational opportunity” of benefiting from the global stablecoin market, but only if regulation is enabling rather than restrictive.
“These are fundamental political choices, and governments must step up,” he continued. “Politicians—not technocrats—will face the risks and rewards of decisions on crypto, blockchain, fintech and digital money.
“The US has taken a clear trajectory, we haven’t, yet.”
Tordera pointed out that the US is already moving quickly with initiatives like the GENIUS Act, which encourages innovation, warning that if the UK fails to act it risks losing its competitive edge.
