The change in the US administration is expected to usher in a new era of digital asset innovation. During the Biden Administration, there was open hostility toward crypto that went beyond the pursuit of fraud and scams. Many firms sought to be regulated but were blocked by both regulators and other policymakers. President-elect Donald Trump has been vocally supportive of crypto and the incoming Chairman of the SEC has been an advisor to the crypto industry. Crypto insiders are delighted with the changes.
CI received a comment from the Payments Association based in the UK. Riccardo Tordera Ricchi, Director of Policy & Government Relations at the Payments Association, says it is about time the US leads the world in crypto development.
The Payments Association works closely with regulators in the UK, including the FCA and Bank of England, as well as other Fintech advocacy groups. Its policy ambitions span the spectrum of the evolving payments sector, including open banking and digital currency.
Tordera Ricchi anticipates much-needed legislation and regulation will emerge in the US.
“The Payments Association has been advocating this for a long time in the UK. The UK government has not historically moved as quickly as needed to enable business to benefit from this technology fully, but it’s positive to see how things have now changed. It’s a good sign to finally have the FCA having published last week a roadmap on the next steps for crypto regulation.”
He explained that government policy needs to provide clarity in rules and complement contemporary business activity. This holds true for stablecoin rules, which are their focus regarding payments.
“We can’t ignore the role that new forms of money have played so far – and the role they are going to have going forward – or the UK is going to get left behind technologically. We need to ensure we have a world-leading regulatory framework to make this work in Britain, learning from the many mistakes made by the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) approach.”
