Major Setback to U.K’s Crypto Community As Sunak and Glen Quit Boris Administration

Earlier this week, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and Economic Secretary to the Treasury John Glen resigned from the Boris Jhonson government which might come as a major setback for the country’s crypto community.

Sunak and Glen were the champions behind making the U.K. the crypto hub of the world. Besides, they had charted out a complete plan earlier this year to improve U.K’s position with crypto-friendly jurisdictions.

However, with both of them quitting, crypto proponents are worried about whether the government will continue with its crypto plans ahead. Ian Taylor, the head of British crypto industry group CryptoUK said: “You don’t write effective policy without knowing what you’re doing. We’re back to square one.”

Replacing Rishi Sunak as Chancellor of the Exchequer is Nadhim Zahawi. But Taylor believes that implementing the crypto push that involves regulating the stablecoins will take longer than expected.

John Glen’s Exit, A Big Void

The U.K government is yet to announce the successor to John Glen, the country’s de fact crypto czar. Glen was instrumental in bridging the gap between the crypto industry and regulators. Sarah Kocianski, an independent fintech strategy consultant told Bloomberg:

“Glen has been a champion of fintech for a long time, relatively speaking, and generally ‘gets’ what’s needed. Whoever takes over will likely have a lot less industry experience and that will make filling his shoes harder.”

The new successors will also have a tough job dealing with the British central bank who has recently called for stricter rules amid the $2 trillion wipe out from the crypto space. In its recent report, BoE noted:

“A number of vulnerabilities were exposed within cryptoasset markets similar to those exposed by past episodes of instability in more traditional parts of the financial system. These events did not pose risks to financial stability overall. But, unless addressed, systemic risks would emerge if cryptoasset activity, and its interconnectedness with the wider financial system, continued to develop”.