The first half of 2025 brought significant developments in the regulation of digital and cryptoassets in the UK and EU. In this half-year update, we review these and look ahead to likely developments in the UK and EU in the...more
7/9/2025
/ Banking Sector ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
EU ,
European Banking Authority (EBA) ,
European Commission ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
FinTech ,
HM Treasury ,
Technology ,
UK
Since December 2024, cryptoassets and related services are regulated in the European Union by the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). Although the regulation provides a comprehensive set of rules for issuers of...more
5/5/2025
/ Blockchain ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
EU ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinTech ,
Investment Management ,
MiFID II ,
Regulatory Requirements
In her first comments since the July 2024 UK general election, Economic Secretary to the UK Treasury Tulip Siddiq MP delivered a speech at the Tokenisation Summit on 21 November 2024 that outlined the recently elected UK...more
12/4/2024
/ Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Stablecoins ,
UK
On November 14, 2024, the UK government unveiled its National Payments Vision (the Vision), a strategy designed to reshape the UK’s payments ecosystem. This Vision responds to the findings of the 2023 Future of Payments...more
11/27/2024
/ Bank of England ,
Banking Sector ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
FinTech ,
HM Treasury ,
Open Banking ,
Payment Systems ,
PRC ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
UK
On 11 September 2024, the UK government introduced the Property (Digital Assets etc) Bill, which provides that digital assets can be considered to be personal property under the laws of England and Wales, and could therefore...more
Across industries, companies are facing new and uncertain regulatory pressures and demands in areas including artificial intelligence, sustainability, algorithmic pricing and fintech-bank relations. In this issue of The...more
9/10/2024
/ Algorithms ,
Antitrust Division ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Banking Sector ,
Board of Directors ,
Competition ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinTech ,
Multinationals ,
Price-Fixing ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Sustainability ,
Technology Sector ,
UK
As the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) consider feedback to their consultation on guidance regarding the UK change-in-controller regime (consultation paper 25/23), we provide a...more
9/9/2024
/ Banking Sector ,
Corporate Governance ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Investment Management ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
UK
On 7 August 2024, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published an update regarding its ongoing assessment of crypto firms’ adherence to the cryptoasset financial promotions rules introduced in October 2023. See our 23...more
On 17 July 2024, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) finalized revisions to the prudential framework for banks’ exposures to cryptoassets. The revisions largely introduced additional requirements relating to the...more
In April 2024, the UK government reiterated its vision for open finance, with UK Economic Secretary Bim Afolami (MP) announcing the creation of the Open Finance Taskforce at the 2024 Innovate Finance Global Summit. The...more
4/30/2024
/ Banking Sector ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
HMRC ,
Payment Systems ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) ,
UK
Responses to the joint Bank of England and HM Treasury consultation paper on a “digital pound” are in, with over 50,000 submissions in total. The scale of feedback shows significant interest in a discussion which could pave...more
Following the declaration of the international artificial intelligence (AI) “Safety Summit” at Bletchley Park (Bletchley Summit) on November 1, 2023, and the White House’s October 30, 2023, Executive Order on AI (Executive...more
12/13/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Bank of England ,
Banking Sector ,
Biden Administration ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
EU ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Machine Learning ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
UK
On 6 November 2023, the Bank of England (the UK’s central bank) issued a discussion paper on the regulation on stablecoins, alongside another paper by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) (DP23/4) and a “Dear CEO” letter...more
On 30 October 2023, the HM Treasury (HMT) published its much-anticipated response (Consultation Response) to its March 2023 consultation paper (Consultation) on the UK’s future financial services regime for cryptoassets....more
11/10/2023
/ Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
HM Treasury ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
UK
The landscape of cryptoasset regulation in the UK entered a new phase in October 2023 with the extension to cryptoassets of marketing restrictions for financial products and services. In particular, crypto firms based outside...more
The UK’s Metro Bank announced a landmark refinancing package on 8 October 2023, following a series of regulatory setbacks and concerns in the markets over the financial condition of the bank. The proposal now awaits...more
The European Union and U.K. are establishing comprehensive regimes for the regulation of cryptoassets. The Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on June 9,...more
This edition of Skadden’s quarterly Insights looks at the latest trends in shareholder activism, the scrutiny companies are facing over their ESG disclosures and employment considerations for using AI in the workplace, among...more
6/27/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Activist Investors ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Capital Markets ,
Confidential Information ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Disclosure ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
Member State ,
Mergers ,
New Rules ,
No-Action Requests ,
Private Equity ,
Proxy Season ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholders ,
Technology ,
UK
On 7 June 2023, the UK Parliament passed the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) (Amendment) Order 2023, which brings cryptoassets within the scope of rules that regulate the marketing of financial...more
Changing CEOs is one of the most critical decisions any board faces. In this issue of The Informed Board, we offer tips on how to avoid the mistakes we most often see. We also explain the problems companies could face if the...more
5/25/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Banking Sector ,
Board of Directors ,
CEOs ,
China ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Emerging Technology Companies ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
EU ,
Executive Orders ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Requirements ,
Financial Institutions ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Mergers ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Notice Requirements ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Technology ,
Technology Sector
The Bank of England (BoE) has announced that Silicon Valley Bank UK Limited (SVB UK) will be sold to HSBC UK Bank Plc (HSBC). This is being carried out under the aegis of the Special Resolution Regime (SRR) — a bespoke...more
The UK government has confirmed its plans for the regulation of interest-free buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) arrangements following a consultation launched in October 2021. The proposed rules are set out in the government’s...more
On 21 October 2021, the UK Treasury (Treasury) published a consultation paper setting out policy options for the regulation of “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) credit agreements. The consultation follows the publication of...more
The highly anticipated Kalifa Review of UK Fintech (the Review), led by former Worldpay CEO Ron Kalifa, was published on 26 February 2021. Its 106 pages — made up of a five-point plan of key recommendations and 15...more
3/11/2021
/ Cryptoassets ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Listing Rules ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Startups ,
UK ,
Venture Capital ,
Venture Funding
Takeaways
- Goods trade was provided for, at the cost of much new paperwork.
- Crucial rules for banking and other services were left unresolved.
The Christmas Eve agreement between the United Kingdom and the...more