The UK government has appointed Emma Reynolds as the new economic secretary responsible for overseeing digital assets and central bank digital currencies – alongside the wider financial sector.
The appointment was announced on Tuesday following the resignation of Tulip Siddiq, who set the government’s crypto agenda weeks ago.
It is not yet clear what the appointment of Reynolds, the former parliamentary secretary to the Treasury, will do for the country’s crypto plans. However, the Financial Conduct Authority has already set its agenda for a new crypto regime.
Reynolds previously worked at TheCityUK, a trade body, as chief executive and said in a 2022 bill that there were positives for Britain being another entrant to the EU and learning from it.
“CryptoUK and its members have a long-term working relationship with the UK government and as such we welcome the appointment of Emma Reynolds as the new City Minister,” said a spokesman for lobby group CryptoUK.
Siddiq, the former secretary, resigned on Tuesday amid mounting pressure over an anti-corruption probe in Bangladesh. Siddiq, whose aunt was the former prime minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, was named in an investigation into allegations that her family embezzled funds.
In a letter, Siddiq said she had referred her to the independent adviser on ministerial standards, Sir Laurie Magnus, where she was able to share full details of her finances and living arrangements. Magnus had found that Siddiq “had not broken the Ministerial Act,” her letter said.
But continuing her work would be a distraction for the government, she said.
Siddiq had just announced that Britain’s new government, led by the Labor Party, would still follow the regulatory plans set out by its predecessor, the Conservative Party. Crypto and stablecoin legislation is expected to emerge early this year.
Many are looking to the UK to take steps forward to regulate the crypto sector as other major nations such as the European Union install their crypto regimes and the US waits for crypto-friendly Donald Trump to begin his presidency next week.
