How Can The New Parliment Member Reshape Crypto Space in the UK

On Monday, Bim Afolami, the Hitchin and Harpenden member of parliament, was named economic secretary to the U.K. Treasury. He will oversee policy related to central bank digital currency (CBDC) and cryptocurrency in this capacity.

Who Has He Replaced?

Andrew Griffith, the former Financial Secretary to the Treasury of the United Kingdoms, is replaced by Afolami. 

Why Was He Replaced? Probable Reasons –

Andre Griffith has not been much of a cryptocurrency supporter. On watching his interviews and press talks, you can pretty much analyze from his comments on crypto that he wants to bring digital assets under traditional regulatory scrutiny. 

A few months back, in a debate hosted by the cross-party Crypto and Digital Assets All Parliamentary Group (APPG), Andrew Griffith told parliamentarians that the government had no plans to appoint a ‘crypto tsar.’ 

During his term, Griffith contributed to the passage of the Financial Services and Markets Bill, which increased regulatory authority over cryptocurrency.

Clause 14 of the Financial Services and Markets Bill would “bring crypto assets within the scope of regulation for the first time… It will ensure that the Treasury is equipped to respond to developments in the crypto sector more quickly and deliver regulation in an agile, risk-based way,” according to Andrew Griffith.

What is Bim Afolami’s Take on Crypto?

Till now, we know that Bim Afolami has always shown great interest in the development and progress of cryptocurrency. 

In early 2022, Bim Afolami met with prominent Coinbase’s cryptocurrency team members to talk about the state of financial services regulation. He stated, “It is vitally important that we have an appropriate regulatory regime for financial services.”

He also published his blog urging the government to handle its regulators. In his blog, he talks about how the fragmented regulatory framework in the United Kingdom has to be categorized and made plain, along with a clear definition of what a regulator is and a list of organizations that fit that description. 

Additionally, he writes, “The Financial Services and Markets Bill is just one example, empowering regulators even further in managing one of our economy’s most important sectors.” He says that regulators should be judged with an interest in emergent technologies on innovation-based outcomes. 

What Can We Hope?’

We hope that the replacement of Griffith by Bim Afolami brings a better regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency environment, making the U.K. a perfect place to plant and grow cryptocurrency businesses and startups.