At the eleventh edition of Innovate Finance Global Summit (IFGS) in London, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves took to the stage, announcing new draft legislation for a comprehensive crypto asset regime which promises to drive economic growth and better protect consumers in the UK.
Rachel Reeves delivered a keynote speech to a packed-out Guildhall, unveiling plans to introduce new regulatory cryptoasset rules, hinting at the contents of her upcoming Mansion House speech in July, and highlighting UK fintech successes.
Reeves first praised the growth the fintech industry has achieved in the last two decades. “When I worked at the Bank of England 25 years ago, fintech was in its infancy, an offshoot of financial services, and there was certainly no such thing as ‘Fintech Week’. But times have changed. Our industry has changed.
“Last year, the UK fintech sector attracted $3.6billion of investments – more than any other country bar the United States. Almost half of Europe’s fintech unicorns are based here in Britain, and roughly a third of all UK unicorns are fintechs – a higher share than anywhere else.”
Despite this growth, Reeves admitted that more could be done to achieve further successes, reiterating that her job “is to back the builders, the wealth creators and the job creators” and that fintech remains a “priority growth opportunity” for the UK government.
New cryptoasset rules
The Chancellor also discussed the importance of achieving the right balance for regulation, especially for digital assets. She explained that, while the UK remains committed to high international standards, it also aims to ensure that its regulatory framework supports economic growth.
To achieve this, she revealed that the UK has published draft legislation for regulating cryptoassets. “We plan to engage with all of you to ensure that the final legislation planned for later this year delivers for the government and the industry, to make the UK a great place for digital asset companies to invest and innovate.”
Under the new rules, crypto exchanges, dealers and agents will be brought into the regulatory remit, in a move hoping to crack down on bad actors and support legitimate innovation. Crypto firms with UK customers will need to meet clear standards on transparency, user protection, and operational resilience. Ultimately, the new rules aim to bring regulation for cryptoassets more in line with the rules set out for traditional financial firms.
The rules come shortly after the FCA revealed that, in 2024, around 12 per cent of UK adults owned some form of cryptocurrency, a significant rise from just four per cent in 2021.
“Regulation must support business, not hold it back,” she added.
International cooperation
Reeves also acknowledged the importance of international cooperation for the UK to achieve its ambition to become a world leader in digital assets. In the week prior to the speech, the Chancellor visited Washington DC for the 2025 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
During the visit, Reeves met US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to discuss a trade deal. During the speech at IFGS, she alluded to these discussions: “Last week, I discussed continued US and UK engagement with Secretary Scott Bessent, including further dialog and the upcoming UK US financial regulatory working group in June to support the use and responsible growth of digital assets, maintaining the deep historic relationship between the world’s two largest financial centres through this period of significant technological change.”
She also further discussed her conversation with Bessent, revealing that they had spoken about how their officials could explore opportunities to support industry to innovate cross-border, in line with proposals put forward by US Securities and Exchange commissioner Hester Peirce, about a transatlantic sandbox for digital securities. This could potentially enable “greater collaboration between capital markets in New York and London”, she added.
Future plans for economic growth
Finally, the Chancellor offered some insight into her upcoming Mansion House address, which she officially confirmed will take place on 15 July. She plans to publish a Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness strategy on the same day, which builds on the UK’s strengths in areas including capital markets, insurance and asset management.
Through the strategy, the government will look to “support firms to innovate by ensuring that they can access and develop the talent that they need, and promoting the UK as a great place to do business globally.”
Before she departed the stage, Reeves once again shared her enthusiasm for the future of the industry.
“It’s incredible how far fintech has come in the past decade, and I’m enormously optimistic about the future for the huge growth of the sector that has already taken place. With the passion, drive and commitment that I see from all of you to make fintech a huge UK success story, it is clear that our job in government is to back you, back the builders, back the change makers, all the way. I am ready and this government is ready to do just that.”
