Bitcoin price rises as UK votes to recognize crypto
Bitcoin has skyrocketed today as the UK Parliament votes to recognize crypto as a regulated financial instrument.
On Wednesday, the combined cryptocurrency market capitalization jumped over 5% and regained ground above $1tn.
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Bitcoin (BTC-USD) is at $20,223 at the time of writing, a change of 5.6% in the last 24 hours.
Ethereum (ETH-USD) jumped over 14% in the last week to $1,508, over 12% in the last 24 hours alone.
Other altcoins fared well with Cardano (ADA-USD) up over 11% in the last 24 hours to $0.39.
Read more: Can Rishi Sunak turn the UK into a global crypto hub?
Amid speculation that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will turn the UK into a crypto hub and world leader in digital asset innovation, the UK Parliament voted to recognize cryptocurrencies as regulated financial instruments and products.
The House of Commons met on Tuesday to debate the proposed Financial Services and Markets Bill, which covers Britain’s post-Brexit economic strategy.
See: ‘Bitcoin Will Eat into Global Finance Until It’s $1 Million Per Coin’ | Crypto Mile
This bill was introduced during Sunak’s time as UK Chancellor of the Exchequer when he served in Boris Johnson’s administration.
During the meeting, Andrew Griffith, Conservative MP for Arundel and South Downs, tabled an amendment to include crypto-assets in the scope of regulated financial services in the UK.
MPs voted to include the amendment in the bill which already includes measures to extend existing regulations to include stablecoins, a digital asset whose price is linked to the US dollar or gold.
Griffith has been the UK Financial Secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer since September 2022.
During the parliamentary session, he said: “Together here is to treat them crypto like other forms of financial assets and not to prefer them, but also to bring them within the regulatory area for the first time.”
Griffith added that the new clause 14 of the bill, “clarifies that crypto-assets can be brought within the scope of the existing provisions” of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 relating to regulated financial activities in the UK.
The bill has two further stages to be passed in the UK’s House of Commons, the report stage and 3rd reading.
It will then go to the House of Lords and, if no changes are needed, it will go through the final stages before becoming law by King Charles’ Royal Assent.
Read more: “Too late to use crypto as a hedge against a falling pound”, says BitBoy Crypto
Bitcoin typically moves in a positive correlation with stocks, such as the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and the Nasdaq (^IXIC).
However, the recent crypto rally over the past 24 hours was in contrast to falls in US and European stocks, with Alphabet ( GOOG ) and Microsoft ( MSFT ) plunging in the post-market after worse-than-expected results.
Watch: Martin Scorsese’s Producer Sees NFT as Future of Film Financing | Crypto Mile
