Lawmaker Calls for the UK Government to do More for Blockchain

• Member of Parliament Natalie Elphicke called for the U.K. government to do more to take advantage of blockchain technology.
• The U.K. government wants to be a crypto hub but has said little about how it plans to regulate the blockchain industry.

U.K. Member of Parliament Natalie Elphicke called for the government to do more for blockchain on Thursday at an event conducted in the Thames Pavilion which resides in the House of Commons where lawmakers meet.

“Now, I want to see the U.K. doing more to harness the power of blockchain technologies, to be that leader, to mark that step change because it's vital that industry and policymakers work together to advance understanding and the application of the technologies,” Elphicke said at an event in London hosted by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Blockchain Technologies she chairs. The blockchain APPG is a cross party group, similar to the crypto APPG.

Blockchain is a sector that Elphicke said she sees a lot of potential in. She said it could provide increased transparency in global supply chains or be used for digital identity and data purposes.

Other countries have been taking on legislation addressing blockchain technology issues. The Deploying American Blockchains Act, a blockchain-friendly bill, received unanimous approval in a committee in the U.S. House of Representatives this month. Meanwhile, Belgium’s government announced last month it wants to boost European blockchain infrastructure.

The U.K. needs to match the pace that international regulators are taking to move forward, Elphicke said. She also called for the U.K. to collaborate with other countries on blockchain issues.

The U.K. has done little in terms of blockchain policy but has said it wants to be a crypto hub – a view the U.K.'s new economic secretary, Bim Afolami, reiterated recently. The country is planning on regulating the sector in phases, starting with legislation for stablecoins being introduced early next year. It’s not clear when more blockchain policies may be enacted in the U.K., though a bill that paves a way for blockchain technology to be used for transporting trade documents recently passed in the country.

The blockchain APPG group also plans to launch round table discussions next year, as well as ask the industry to weigh in on how the U.K. can harness skills, opportunities and diversity in blockchain, Elphicke told CoinDesk at the event.