UK Appoints Emma Reynolds as Economic Secretary to Oversee Crypto

The U.K. government has appointed Emma Reynolds as the new Economic Secretary in charge of overseeing digital assets and central bank digital currencies — alongside the broader financial sector.

The appointment was announced on Tuesday following the resignation of Tulip Siddiq, who set out the government’s crypto agenda weeks ago.

It is not yet clear what the appointment of Reynolds, the former Parliamentary secretary at the Treasury, will do for the country’s crypto plans. However, the Financial Conduct Authority has already set out its agenda for a new crypto regime.

Reynolds previously worked at TheCityUK, a trade body, as a managing director and in a bill discussion in 2022 said that there were positives to the U.K. being a second mover to the European Union and learning from it.

“CryptoUK and its members have a long-term working relationship with the U.K. government and, as such, we welcome the appointment of Emma Reynolds as the new City Minister, ” a spokesperson from lobby group CryptoUK said.

Siddiq, the former secretary, resigned on Tuesday due to mounting pressure regarding an anti-corruption investigation in Bangladesh. Siddiq, whose aunt was the former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina, was named in an investigation looking into allegations that her family had embezzled funds.

In a letter, Siddiq said she had referred herself to the independent adviser on ministerial standards, Sir Laurie Magnus, where she was able to share the full details of her finances and living arrangements. Magnus had found that Siddiq had “not breached the ministerial code,” her letter said.

However, continuing her work would be a distraction to the government, she said.

Siddiq had just announced that the U.K.’s new government, headed up by the Labour Party, would still follow the regulatory plans set by its predecessor the Conservative Party. Crypto and stablecoin legislation is expected to come out early this year.

Many are looking at the U.K. to take steps forward to regulate the crypto sector as other major nations like the European Union install their crypto regimes and the U.S. waits for crypto friendly Donald Trump to begin his Presidency next week.