The UK House of Lords approved an amendment on Wednesday requiring the Treasury to create a national strategy for regulating digital assets, dealing a defeat to the government on the Financial Services and Markets Bill.
The amendment passed by 194 votes to 138, with Conservative and Liberal Democrat peers voting against the government's near-solid Labour support. Baroness Neville-Rolfe, a Conservative former Treasury minister, introduced the measure.
The new clause would require the Treasury to prepare, publish and consult on a strategy covering the regulation and development of digital assets and related financial market infrastructure in the UK.
The scope encompasses cryptoassets, qualifying stablecoins, Central Bank Digital Currencies, tokenised securities and other digital and tokenised financial assets.
Regulatory Timeline
The UK's Financial Conduct Authority finalised its regulatory framework for cryptoassets in June, with implementation scheduled for 25 October 2027. An authorisation gateway for firms opened on 30 September and runs through 28 February 2027.
International Progress
The UK lags behind other major jurisdictions in digital asset regulation. The EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation has applied to service providers since 30 December 2024.
The United States signed the GENIUS Act into law in July 2025, establishing a federal framework for dollar-backed tokens. The Clarity Act, broader market-structure legislation, passed the House in July 2025 by 294-134 but remains stalled in the Senate over provisions involving DeFi, stablecoin yield and ethics concerns.
