Crypto: 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.

For Susie Violet Ward, CEO of Bitcoin Policy UK, the episode highlights how drawn‑out rulemaking, overlapping regimes and high compliance costs relative to market size are discouraging companies from building locally, even while the FCA moves toward a Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA)-style prudential regime for crypto asset firms.

She told Cointelegraph that when rules remain in transition, and the cost of compliance is high compared with the opportunity, it becomes harder for companies to commit capital, hire and scale. “Capital goes where it can operate with clarity and confidence,” she said, and Gemini’s retrenchment reflects that reality.

Related: UK finance watchdog nears final consultation step on key crypto rules

Ward added that UK crypto businesses currently operate under a “patchwork” of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) registration, financial promotions restrictions and interim guidance while the full regime remains “years away.”

She argued that this combination makes the country a harder place to deploy capital than jurisdictions offering clearer frameworks.

Laura Navaratnam, head of UK policy at the Crypto Council for Innovation, told Cointelegraph that, as one of the first firms to secure FCA registration in 2020, Gemini's exit will inevitably be “a blow for policymakers” trying to finalize the new regime ahead of license applications opening in September.

Source: CoinTelegraph