UK lawmakers back digital asset strategy requirement in financial services bill

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UK digital asset strategy bill

Highlights

UK House of Lords approved Amendment 88 to the Financial Services and Markets Bill by 194 to 138 votes, requiring a 12-month digital asset strategy.
The amendment mandates the Treasury's strategy cover cryptoassets, stablecoins, tokenized securities, innovation, consumer protection, and firms' access to banking services.
The bill must return to the House of Commons for further consideration, with Labour opposing the amendment for lacking a comprehensive framework for rapidly evolving digital assets.

Amendment sets 12-month strategy deadline

As reported by Cointelegraph, the amendment passed the House of Lords by 194 votes to 138 during the Report Stage of the Financial Services and Markets Bill on Wednesday, adding a requirement for the government to prepare, publish and consult on a digital asset strategy.

Amendment 88, introduced by Conservative peer Baroness Neville-Rolfe, would require the Treasury’s plan to cover cryptoassets, stablecoins and tokenized securities. It also addresses innovation, consumer protection and firms’ access to banking, payment and settlement services.

The Financial Services and Markets Bill is continuing through Parliament and would make broader changes to the UK’s financial services regulatory framework. The measure must still return to the House of Commons, where lawmakers can accept, amend or reject the Lords’ changes.

Regulatory debate sharpens across the UK sector

The vote follows months of discussion over the UK’s digital asset policy and whether ministers need a formal statutory framework. During a July debate, Treasury Minister for Investment Lord Stockwood pushed back on those calls, saying the government believed it already had a digital asset strategy and was carrying it out.

Labour opposes the amendment on the grounds that it does not adequately address the fast development of digital assets and the need for a cohesive regulatory framework. The UK Cryptoasset Business Council, which says it worked with lawmakers on the amendment, welcomes the vote and highlights Lord Chris Holmes’ question of whether the UK is merely regulating digital assets or building a digital assets economy.

Our earlier coverage of offshore trust structures for crypto wealth explained that more crypto entrepreneurs and investors are trying to place digital assets into trusts for succession planning and potential tax efficiency. We noted that many trustees still hesitate to accept crypto because of volatility, difficulties verifying source of funds, and compliance risks—especially when clients want trusts to hold tokens directly.

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