UK starts process of imposing OECD’s crypto regulatory framework

Today, the United Kingdom officially made a move to incorporate the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) cryptocurrency reporting standards into its legal and fiscal framework. This came right after the country’s spring budget announcement. This crypto reporting system is expected to bring in a lot of money for the UK government, according to the budget from the Treasury, which is in charge of money matters for the government. In particular, an expected increase of £35 million ($45 million) is expected between 2026 and 2027. This amount will rise to £95 million between 2027 and 2028.

The goal of this new OECD standard is to make it harder for people to avoid paying taxes. It builds on previous rules about foreign accounts. Its primary objective is to make it easy for people in different countries to share details about crypto transactions. Planned to go into effect in 2026, the proposal is a united effort to fix the holes in tax transparency caused by speedy progress in fintech and the growing global market for cryptocurrencies.

The Treasury has also set May 29 as the last day for the public to give input. The government’s next steps, such as publishing a full answer and holding more discussions on the draft rules, will depend on the replies they receive.

A related event is that His Majesty’s Treasury, the Bank of England (BoE), and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have joined forces as a strategic move to make the regulations for cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) clearer. Varun Paul, an expert in fintech who used to work at the Bank of England and is now in charge of CBDC and financial market infrastructure projects at Fireblocks, talked to Cointelegraph about how crypto regulations are changing in the UK.

Paul says that the UK is quickly catching up with the Markets in Crypto-Assets law (MiCA) of the European Union, which is seen as the world’s best crypto law. He talks about a time when the FCA didn’t do much to regulate crypto, which put the UK behind its European peers for a while. But things are changing. The UK is working hard to not only catch up but also create an environment that is good for fintech and crypto innovation. This makes London even more of a global hub for fintech and crypto.

The UK’s regulatory progress is based on how well the Treasury, the BoE, and the FCA work together. This system for working together has sped up the creation of laws, without the need for cross-state planning that the EU has to deal with. Paul stresses that working together could lead to a more complete set of rules that support stablecoins, allow tokenized bank transfers, and make it easier for CBDCs to be used.

Paul says that stablecoins are the most important part of the cryptocurrency industry. For instance, Tether (USDT) recently reached a market cap of over $100 billion. The achievement shows how important dollar-backed stablecoins are as a way to get into the larger crypto market. But both the UK and Europe want to create their own safe cryptocurrencies to protect their money and keep up with the needs of the digital age.