Isadora Arredondo, former FCA policymaker and now Hedera's VP of Global Policy, argues that the UK's ambition to become a global crypto hub faces a significant gap between policy design and implementation. Unlike the EU's MiCA, which provides a dedicated crypto framework, the UK has pursued a split approach: moving quickly on institutional crypto (e.g., Digital Securities Sandbox) while subjecting startups and retail-focused firms to lengthy, legacy authorization processes. Arredondo attributes delays not to hostility but to competing regulatory priorities, including Brexit and COVID-19, which shifted focus away from crypto. She notes that while the UK's high regulatory standards provide institutional credibility, they create bottlenecks for smaller firms. Looking ahead, she emphasizes the need for interoperability across blockchains, stablecoins, and CBDCs, and views the growing role of major financial institutions in crypto as evidence that core crypto ideas are being absorbed into mainstream finance, rather than abandoned.

Key facts

• Arredondo cites gap between UK policy ambition and execution as key hub delay.
• UK takes split approach: proactive on institutions, slow on startups/retail.
• Competing priorities like Brexit and COVID-19 diverted FCA from crypto.
• EU's MiCA praised for allowing stablecoins, tokenized deposits, CBDCs to coexist.
• Arredondo sees institutional crypto adoption as validation of core crypto ideas.