Now Lord Philip Hammond (Philip Hammond) holds the chair of the board of directors of the cryptocurrency custodial service Copper. The former chancellor believes that the country's authorities are making insufficient efforts to establish the UK as the center of the cryptocurrency industry.
Back last year, current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, spoke about the need to regulate cryptocurrencies and use stablecoins in the payment system.
“The UK needs to stay ahead of the rest of the world after Brexit. We let the country fall behind. Switzerland is ahead, the EU is also more advanced in this regard. We need the courage to take certain and measured risks,” Hammond said.
Previously, a large custodial service Copper, which created a division for the storage of digital assets, applied for registration with the UK regulator (FCA). However, at the end of May last year, the management of the service decided to register in Switzerland. Hammond then cited the FCA's sluggishness as the reason for the decision.
Back in late 2021, Philip Hammond said that ignoring cryptocurrencies is unwise, since many European countries have already begun to actively use them.