MP Matt Hancock told the House of Commons that England should be a home for digital assets and other next-gen technologies.
With strict regulatory measures imposed in the United Kingdom over the past couple of months, the country seemed very distant from any blockchain technologies. Even crypto giants like Binance were restricted from operating within the region.
However, on January 27th, at a House of Commons hearing, Parliament Member Matt Hancock expressed his support for blockchain technologies and fintech innovations that would put the UK back on the map in terms of the crypto industry.
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With that being said, Hancock took some heat over the past year due to some controversy regarding the pandemic, and probably lost some trust from the public and some of his colleagues. Therefore, it is unclear whether the House of Commons will take his words as seriously.
In any case, the MP presented some valuable insight regarding the crypto industry, and how it can ramp up the UK's economic situation by making it the "home for fintech and cryptocurrency", assuming that it is done right. He added:
"These innovations have the potential to disrupt finance, just as social media has disrupted communication, or online shopping has changed retail."
Also, he highlighted "financial crime" and "fraud" that could be tackled via blockchain technologies by issuing thought-out frameworks and policies for cryptocurrencies.
The speech at the House of Commons could be related to the comments made by Phillip Hammond, who was previously the chancellor of the UK, about the importance of properly regulating digital assets, not putting an all-out blanket on them. He stated:
"It’s not about cryptoassets. It’s about establishing the U.K. as a major base for digital trading infrastructure."
According to Hammond, if the country falls behind in blockchain technologies, the digital asset industry will simply dissipate from the UK, and other regions in the EU, which are more crypto-friendly, will move further ahead, putting England in an unfavorable position in digital finance services.
