Last week BPI had our inaugural trip to the UK to launch our international efforts. 🇬🇧 Below is a quick summary on the state of Bitcoin Policy from London. We had a whirlwind week, meeting with members of Parliament, briefing the House of Lords, discussing Bitcoin with the City of London, reviewing policy ideas with the Reform party, and meeting lots of local Bitcoiners. From these meetings, a few themes emerged: 1) There’s a surprising amount of energy. Everyone we spoke to, regardless of party affiliation, was paying close attention to the U.S. developments and was concerned about the UK falling behind. I consistently heard the phrase that the UK wants to be a “fast follow” and there seems to be a sudden burst of energy to get something done. Most recently, the Bank of England rescinded their guidance limiting ownership of stablecoins and this seems to be the start of a new trend in the right direction. Policymakers in the UK recognize that financial innovation cemented their position on the world stage and they don’t want to be left behind as this industry grows. 2) There is still a wide gap in understanding of the different types of networks. Many of the conversations started with a focus on“blockchain technology.” In some ways it felt like I had been transported back to 2018 when everyone was excited about “blockchain not Bitcoin.” But over the course of our discussions, I could feel the lightbulb going off when we discussed that the killer app for blockchain was actually already here. It’s called Bitcoin. Through discussions about what sets Bitcoin apart as a neutral, open network without insiders, I found lawmakers were surprisingly receptive. Many of their concerns were focused on how crypto schemes dump tokens on unsuspecting retail investors. We shared those concerns and offered ideas to help them combat crypto grift. It was also interesting that many officials had been following the recent testimony by ADM Paparo about bitcoin as a positive tool for the U.S. national security interests. Seems to be a clear indicator that success in the US has knock on effects overseas. Overall, this was an exploratory first trip and we came away with a strong sense of optimism for the UK making more progress in the coming months. Everyone was keen to learn from our work in the U.S. and eager to get input on how the UK can improve. We look forward to providing you more updates as the work continues. And a big thank you to @Joeyg_poh and @xapobankapp for making this trip possible with their generous support. And thank s to @AntidoteBTC for hosting a great community event.
