Speaking to the Queen, Prince Charles outlined the British government’s plans to support the safe acceptance of cryptocurrencies and create “powers to seize and recover crypto-assets more quickly and easily.”
The U.K. government’s plans to support the adoption of cryptocurrencies
The U.K. government laid out its legislative agenda for the next parliamentary year in a speech Tuesday by the Queen, Prince Charles, the monarch’s son and first in line to the throne. The Queen’s speech is drafted by the government and read by the monarch as part of the official opening of Parliament.
Speaking to the House of Lords and the House of Commons, Prince Charles detailed the many commitments that Her Majesty’s government would make. He mentioned that 22 bills would be introduced, telling Parliament that “the government’s priority is to grow and strengthen the economy and to help reduce the cost of living for families.”
One of the bills is the “Financial Services and Markets Bill,” according to the background and information notes to the Queen’s Speech posted on the government website. The purpose of this bill is to “preserve and strengthen Britain’s position as a world leader in financial services” and to “take advantage of Brexit,” the document says.
The benefits of this bill include:
Taking advantage of innovative technology opportunities in financial services, including support for secure cryptocurrency adoption and sustainable outsourcing for technology providers.
A bill to create additional authority to seize and return crypto-assets
Another bill that Prince Charles focused on that mentions cryptocurrency is the “Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill.” This bill seeks to “combat the kleptocrats, criminals, and terrorists who abuse our open economy by ensuring that dirty money is pushed out of the UK.”
Among the elements of the bill:
Creating powers to more quickly and easily seize and recover crypto-assets, which are the primary means used for ransomware.
“Creating civil forfeiture powers would reduce the risk posed by those who cannot be prosecuted but use their funds to further criminal activity,” according to a briefing note from Queen’s Speech.
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