Ripple urges UK to speed up crypto regulation
UK risks losing crypto edge, say Ripple and industry leaders.
At a policy summit hosted by Ripple in London, industry leaders and policymakers gathered to urge the United Kingdom to accelerate its digital asset regulatory agenda or risk falling behind in the race for global crypto leadership.
"The Digital Asset Policy & Regulations: UK Policy Summit", held in collaboration with Innovate Finance and the UK Centre for Blockchain Technology, underscored the strategic importance of enacting a comprehensive framework for cryptoassets and stablecoins, reports Bitcoin News.
With major jurisdictions like the European Union, Singapore, and Hong Kong advancing their regulatory environments, summit participants stressed that the UK’s opportunity to capitalize on its financial strengths is narrowing. Ripple, which maintains a significant presence in London, pointed to the country’s existing infrastructure in capital markets, foreign exchange, and insurance as a natural foundation for scaling tokenized finance. “There is a huge opportunity for digital assets in the UK … the UK has all the building blocks to be a global leader in digital assets,” the company stated.
Stablecoin Regulation a Top Priority
Speakers at the summit emphasized the need for “proportionate and risk-sensitive” regulation to balance innovation with consumer protection. Special attention was given to the role of stablecoins, which are increasingly used in trading, payments, and settlement. Industry experts urged the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to prioritize finalizing stablecoin rules to foster confidence and usage within the UK market.
A key theme was the UK’s potential to benefit from a “second mover advantage”—learning from early regulatory implementations elsewhere—though panelists warned that the window for this benefit is closing. Tokenization was also a major focus, with UK Finance projecting that digital assets could represent up to 10% of global capital markets by 2030, equivalent to $4 trillion–$5 trillion. Legal and regulatory barriers, however, were cited as significant impediments to achieving that forecast.
Ripple concluded the summit with a call for urgency, stating, “This will require greater pace and progress on the cryptoasset and stablecoin regulatory regime and other barriers to adoption of digital assets.” The company pledged continued collaboration with regulators and industry stakeholders to help shape a forward-looking regulatory framework.
Recently we wrote, that Ripple has agreed to acquire Hidden Road, a global prime brokerage firm, for $1.25 billion, marking one of the largest acquisitions in the digital asset space to date.
