Gemini exit a ‘blow for policymakers’ with UK crypto hub ambitions

Industry groups and exchanges said the United Kingdom’s slow, overlapping crypto rules and compliance frictions are undermining its “global hub” ambition.

Gemini’s decision to exit the United Kingdom, European Union and Australia to focus on the United States and Singapore has sharpened questions over whether the UK’s still unfinished rulebook is deterring even well‑regulated players the government hoped to attract. 

In April 2022, then Chancellor Rishi Sunak said it was his “ambition to make the UK a global hub for cryptoasset technology,” unveiling Treasury measures, such as stablecoin regulation, and launching a Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) “CryptoSprint” to help firms invest in the country.

However, in Gemini’s latest strategy update on Thursday, the exchange said many foreign markets were “hard to win,” with expansion leaving it “stretched thin” and burdened by organizational complexity, driving up costs.

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