UK Government Defeated as Lords Back Digital Assets Strategy
Key Takeaways
- •Conservative and Liberal Democrat peers joined forces to defeat the government, while Labour support was largely opposed to the amendment.
- •The proposed Treasury strategy would address both digital assets and associated digital financial market infrastructure.
- •The FCA’s crypto regulatory framework is due to take effect on 25 October 2027, with firm authorisations open until 28 February 2027.
- •The EU already applies its Markets in Crypto-Assets rules to service providers, while the United States has enacted a framework for dollar-backed tokens.
The UK government suffered a defeat in the House of Lords on Wednesday after peers backed an amendment requiring the Treasury to develop a national strategy for regulating digital assets.
The upper chamber approved the measure by 194 votes to 138, with Conservative and Liberal Democrat peers combining against a near-solid bloc of Labour votes. Baroness Neville-Rolfe, a Conservative former Treasury minister, moved the amendment to the Financial Services and Markets Bill.
The new clause, titled “Digital assets strategy,” would require the Treasury to prepare, publish and consult on a strategy for regulating and developing digital assets and related digital financial market infrastructure in the UK. The vote is recorded in the House of Lords division record.
JUST IN: U.K. House of Lords passes amendment requiring the government to develop a national cryptocurrency strategy pic.twitter.com/77tsy5cRaO — Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) September 11, 2026
https://x.com/BitcoinMagazine/status/2098422489504272483?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
According to the draft, digital-asset regulation would cover “cryptoassets, qualifying stablecoins, Central Bank Digital Currencies, tokenised securities and other digital and tokenised financial assets.” Because the amendment calls for a strategy rather than setting out detailed operating rules, its immediate effect would be to require the Treasury to define and consult on a policy framework across those categories.
The UK is drafting a sweeping new crypto bill. The Financial Conduct Authority finalised its regulatory framework for cryptoassets in June, with the regime due to take effect on 25 October 2027. The authorisation gateway for firms opened on 30 September and will remain open until 28 February 2027. The proposed Treasury strategy would therefore sit alongside the FCA's separate regulatory and authorisation work.
Britain is trailing Brussels and Washington in digital-asset regulation. The EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation has applied to service providers since 30 December 2024.
In the United States, President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law in July 2025, establishing a federal framework for dollar-backed tokens. Broader market-structure legislation remains unfinished. The Clarity Act passed the House in July 2025 by 294-134 but has been held up in the Senate over provisions concerning DeFi, stablecoin yield and ethics. A procedural vote is scheduled for next week.
The article was written by Mathew Di Salvo and originally published by Bitcoin Magazine.
