UK House of Lords Votes to Force Treasury Digital Assets Strategy

The UK government faces pressure to develop a comprehensive strategy for digital assets after the House of Lords voted in favor of an amendment requiring the Treasury to create such a plan.

The amendment, introduced by Conservative peer Baroness Neville-Rolfe, passed with 194 votes in support and 138 against. It would require the Treasury to publish a digital-assets strategy within 12 months of the bill becoming law, covering cryptoassets, stablecoins, central bank digital currencies, and tokenized securities.

The vote comes as the UK government has already approved plans for the Bank of England to support new forms of digital payments, including stablecoins. The amendment is also seen as a response to the UK's lagging behind other regions in developing a clear framework for crypto regulation, with the EU and US having established their own frameworks.

The Financial Conduct Authority has already finalized rules for its new cryptoasset regime, but the Lords amendment would tie together regulation, tokenized finance, payments systems, and how the UK competes globally in this space. The bill now moves to the Commons for further debate after its third reading in the Lords on September 15.