ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, Bank of England's Executive Director for Prudential Policy David Bailey stated that the UK plans to propose new restrictive regulations on banks holding crypto assets before 2026 to mitigate financial stability risks.The proposal will reference the disclosure framework established by the Basel Committee, which recommends that banks limit their exposure to crypto assets like Bitcoin to no more than 1%.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, UK-based startup Optalysys, focused on secure computing, announced the launch of what is claimed to be the world's first server designed specifically for blockchain, capable of large-scale data processing without the need for decryption.The company's LightLocker node is a server that utilizes fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) technology. This is a mathematical method that allows computations to be performed directly on encrypted data without compromising the encryption itself.Over the past year, several companies have raised funds in the cryptocurrency space and explored the applications of fully homomorphic encryption (FHE). Optalysys stated that its server hardware is specifically designed for blockchain encryption, providing a more cost-effective alternative to expensive and inefficient GPU systems, with a 40% reduction in energy consumption.Optalysys is headquartered in Leeds, England, and was founded in 2013 by CEO Nick New and CTO Robert Todd. The company completed a £21 million (approximately $28 million) Series A funding round in July 2023.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, Gemini's latest "State of the Crypto Market" report shows that the cryptocurrency ownership rate in the UK for 2025 has the highest year-on-year increase globally, with the percentage of respondents holding crypto rising from 18% last year to 24%. Singapore retains the global lead with a 28% ownership rate, followed closely by France and the United States at 21% and 22%, respectively. The average ownership rate in the four countries (US, UK, France, Singapore) is 24%, meaning one in four people holds crypto assets.The report notes that the implementation of the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) may warm the regulatory environment in Europe, but the UK has yet to introduce national-level crypto regulations. Currently, the UK government is advancing a regulatory draft for crypto exchanges, aiming to complete the legislative process this year, focusing on consumer protection and operational compliance frameworks. The public consultation for this draft closed on May 23, and the Treasury is expected to release the final version within the year.

ChainCatcher news, according to CCTV News, the UK and the US have reached an agreement on the terms of a tariff trade deal. The UK government has agreed to make concessions on the import of US food and agricultural products in exchange for the US reducing tariffs on UK car exports.

ChainCatcher news, citing The New York Times reported by Jin10 Data: The United States will announce a trade agreement with the United Kingdom.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jen @BackseatVC, the product head of payment giant Stripe, who posted on X that Stripe is developing a new stablecoin product supported by Bridge, and has opened applications for testing. This product is aimed at companies outside the United States, European Union, and the United Kingdom, with the goal of providing easier access to US dollars.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, the UK Home Secretary stated that the possibility of taking countermeasures against US tariffs cannot be ruled out.

ChainCatcher news, according to Mario Nawfal, the UK has seen a surge in social media hacking incidents, with cases rising from 22,530 in 2023 to 35,434 in 2024. Hackers typically take over social media or email accounts, impersonating users and tricking their friends into providing security codes.On this, on-chain detective ZachXBT stated that the penalties for cybercrime in the UK are relatively low, and even when scams are reported, offenders often do not face substantial punishment. Additionally, law enforcement agencies also face resource shortages when dealing with such cases.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jin10 report, the UK Treasury stated that there are "no plans" to introduce a US-style Bitcoin reserve.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the Austrian cryptocurrency platform Bitpanda is expanding its operations in the UK after receiving regulatory approval from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).Bitpanda announced on February 12 that it has been authorized to offer over 500 cryptocurrencies in the UK. This approval also allows Bitpanda to provide various crypto services to UK investors, including staking, savings plans, and crypto indices.

ChainCatcher news, according to Chainalysis, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) jointly announced sanctions against the Russian bulletproof hosting provider Zservers on February 11, 2025. The company was sanctioned for supporting the attack activities of the LockBit ransomware group.The sanctions list includes two Russian citizens, Aleksandr Bolshakov and Alexander Mishin, along with their associated cryptocurrency addresses, as well as Zservers and its three cryptocurrency addresses.On-chain data shows that Zservers has completed over $5.2 million in fund settlements through KYC-free exchanges like Garantex. The company has servers in Russia, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, the United States, and Finland, providing infrastructure support for multiple ransomware organizations.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, the UK is exploring the use of nuclear energy for artificial intelligence data center construction plans, with the first area located in Culham, where the UK Atomic Energy Authority is based.The UK government will establish an energy committee composed of government and private officials, which will explore powering data centers with small modular reactors that rely on nuclear fission technology. Vantage Data Centers stated that as part of this plan, it will invest over £12 billion (approximately $14.6 billion) in data centers across the UK.Another data center company, Nscale, announced it will invest $2.5 billion over the next three years. The Labour Party, led by Starmer, has made artificial intelligence a core part of its economic agenda, but progress on related policies has been slow and it has faced criticism for the confusion caused by early released information.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cryptoslate, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) launched a public consultation on cryptocurrency regulation on December 16, 2024. The new framework aims to balance innovation and risk control, focusing on issues such as market manipulation and financial fraud.The FCA proposed to authorize trading platforms to share information on suspicious market abuse and will restrict the operations of unregistered crypto businesses. The consultation period will last until March 14, 2025, with a draft regulatory framework expected to be released in 2025 and plans for full implementation in 2026, covering areas such as trading activities, stablecoin regulation, and asset custody.

ChainCatcher news, 5Money and Storible conducted a study investigating 1,544 global crypto projects from January 2022 to October 2024. The data shows that the United States accounts for as much as 43% of crypto scams, while China and the United Kingdom account for 8% and 7% respectively.In terms of the number of failed projects, the United States also ranks first, accounting for 33%. China (7.63%), the United Kingdom (7.22%), South Korea, and Singapore also have failure rates exceeding 6%, ranking high in the survey results.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, UK Economic Secretary Tulip Siddiq announced at the City & Financial Global Tokenization Summit in London on November 22, 2024, that the UK plans to launch a regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency industry in early 2025. The new framework will separate stablecoins from the existing payment system and establish specific regulations for staking services to prevent them from being classified as collective investment schemes.This move ends the uncertainty in the market regarding the direction of cryptocurrency regulation since the Labour government took office in July 2024. The previous Conservative government had already included cryptocurrencies in the scope of regulated activities under the Financial Services and Markets Bill.

ChainCatcher news, according to Crowdfund Insider, the Gemini 2024 Global Cryptocurrency Report shows that UK crypto asset holders remain "unaffected" by market pressures, with 93% of existing cryptocurrency holders likely to purchase cryptocurrencies in the coming year. The proportion of UK holders owning cryptocurrencies remains stable at 18% in 2024, the same as two years ago.In addition, the cryptocurrency sell-off rate in the UK this year is relatively low, with only 15% of holders selling cryptocurrencies in the past six months, a figure lower than that of the US, France, and Turkey. UK cryptocurrency holders demonstrate a commitment to this asset class, with 59% willing to allocate at least 5% of their portfolios to cryptocurrencies, which is 2% higher than the global average.However, UK respondents continue to express concerns about the need for a "clear" regulatory framework for digital assets, with 49% stating that clearer government regulation would enhance trust.

ChainCatcher news, according to DLNews, UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced the first budget proposal, raising the highest capital gains tax rate from 20% to 24%, and increasing the lower rate from 10% to 18%. Although the increase is lower than the tech industry's previous expectations, it has still faced criticism from representatives of the crypto industry.A spokesperson for CryptoUK expressed disappointment to the media that the Chancellor failed to seize the opportunity to unify the digital asset tax system with traditional trading, and also did not provide clearer tax guidance for the industry, leaving many startups, growth-stage companies, and investors in a state of uncertainty.Reeves stated that the tax rate adjustments aim to fill the £22 billion public spending gap left by the Conservative government. She pointed out that even after the increase, the UK's tax rates remain lower than those of other European G7 economies.

ChainCatcher news, according to CNBC, Circle's global policy chief Dante Disparte stated that he believes the UK will soon introduce legislation regarding stablecoins, which are cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a fixed peg to government currencies such as the US dollar or the British pound.During an interview with CNBC last week while in London, Disparte said, "I think we are only a few months away from the formal launch of stablecoin market legislation, rather than years." When CNBC reached out to the UK Treasury and the Bank of England, they had not yet provided a comment.