Labour's Vision: UK as a Hub for Tokenization & Digital Pound Development

• Labour Party Pledges to Transform the UK into a Tokenisation and Fintech Hub
• Labour's Financial Sector Plans
• Digital-Asset Policies
• Tokenisation Opportunities
• Labour's Plan for Tokenisation
• Support for the Digital Pound
• Welcomed by CryptoUK

Labour Party Pledges to Transform the UK into a Tokenisation and Fintech Hub

The Labour Party, the opposition to the current government in the United Kingdom, has articulated its ambition to establish the country as a primary hub for tokenisation in order to increase liquidity in the financial markets. Alongside this, there is also a keen interest in furthering the Bank of England's progress on a digital pound. As the coming election draws nearer, polls presently suggest that Labour holds an advantage over the ruling Conservatives.

Labour's Financial Sector Plans

A document titled Financing Growth, spanning 28 pages, provides an overview of Labour's vision for the country's financial sector. The party aims to establish the UK as a centre for sustainable finance, expand regional financial hubs, and foster the growth of fintech innovation. The general election is due within the upcoming year, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak suggesting it may occur in the latter half of the year.

Digital-Asset Policies

The Conservative administration has implemented a variety of policies relating to the digital-asset sector. Notably, several bills were introduced in 2023, one of which classified cryptocurrencies as a regulated activity. Additionally, the government embarked on initiatives to develop a digital pound and encourage tokenisation. Despite these measures, Labour presently leads in polls regarding voting intentions.

Tokenisation Opportunities

The Labour Party has recognised the potential of tokenisation, defined by UK Finance as the digital representation of financial assets using distributed ledger technology. The party believes this presents a significant new opportunity for the UK. Investment bank Citi Group has estimated that globally, tokenised assets could reach a value close to $4 trillion by 2030. This could boost liquidity and open access to new asset classes.

Labour's Plan for Tokenisation

The Labour party's strategic plan includes making the UK a global leader in tokenisation. This includes advancing legislative clarity around tokenisation and engaging with regulators to shape a suitable, results-driven regulatory framework to oversee the technology. The party also plans to expand the digital-asset regulatory sandboxes and consider the possibility of a tokenised UK government bond test issue. This will involve collaboration with other financial centres to establish interoperable standards and facilitate the trade of tokenized assets across borders.

Support for the Digital Pound

The Bank of England has been actively working on the development of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Following the conclusion of a consultation phase, which gathered 50,000 responses, the project has now entered a design phase. Labour has expressed its support for this initiative, recognising the growing case to protect the integrity and sovereignty of the Bank of England and the UK's financial and monetary system through a state-backed digital pound. The party insists that issues such as privacy, financial inclusion and stability must be effectively addressed in the design of a central bank digital currency.

Welcomed by CryptoUK

Labour's proposals regarding tokenisation and the digital pound have received a warm reception from lobby group CryptoUK, according to a spokesperson's statement.

Edited by Jonathan Stoker