United Kingdom Seeks to Strengthen Its Digital Asset Sector

Recent efforts by the United Kingdom (UK) suggest that the nation may be looking to expand its digital assets sector. This follows the news that British Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt recently announced new legislation to that effect. This statement came alongside a mini-budget of 110 measures that the UK has highlighted for the improvement of its economy.

United Kingdom to Open Wider Access to Digital Assets

Per the announcement, the UK government appears to be intent on expanding digital assets throughout the nation. To this effect, it now looks forward to passing legislation to implement the Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS). The UK plans to use the DSS to bolster the adoption of these assets across various financial markets in the long run. The budget statement reads in part:

“The government will lay a statutory instrument to implement the Digital Securities Sandbox, delivering on the Edinburgh Reform announcement to implement a Financial Market Infrastructure Sandbox in 2023.”

According to the statement, the UK government had launched a study in July, with hopes of learning more about the potential benefits of the DSS. Although it plans to release the results of the study at a later date, the DSS initiative is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2024.

DSS, Not DS

It might be worth mentioning that the upcoming DSS initiative is different from the Digital Sandbox that is already in place. Recall that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) launched the Digital Sandbox in August. At the time, the FCA claimed that the Digital Sandbox would be focused on helping digital product development firms that are in their early stages.

Helen Boyd, who is the FCA Head of Capital Markets, has also attempted to explain the difference in the initiatives. Last month, Boyd noted that the DSS will have “a new rule set that would allow it to do new things with digital securities.”

Whatever might be the case, the DSS is set to be made law via a statutory instrument. That is, Parliament does not necessarily have to pass the legislation into law for it to be enforced as a rule.