UK Treasury Doubles Down on Bitcoin Snub—Cites ’Strategic Prudence’ (Or Fear of Volatility?)

Whitehall’s bean counters just drew a line in the sand—no Bitcoin on the Crown’s balance sheet. Treasury officials confirmed the UK won’t follow El Salvador’s playbook, opting out of crypto reserves despite growing institutional adoption.

Behind the scenes: The move exposes the growing rift between crypto-native nations and legacy financial systems clinging to ’stability.’ One Treasury insider quipped, ’We prefer our reserves not to swing 20% before lunch.’

Meanwhile, crypto traders shrug—less competition for the next halving cycle. As traditional finance keeps its hands clean, decentralized networks keep rewriting the rules. The irony? That ’prudent’ fiat reserve? Currently inflating at 3.9%.

In brief

• The United Kingdom categorically rules out the creation of a national Bitcoin reserve, unlike the United States.
• Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Emma Reynolds, states that this strategy is “not suited to the UK market “.
• The British government is nevertheless exploring innovative uses of blockchain, particularly for sovereign debt issuance.
• The UK rejects the European MiCA approach and supports regulation integrated into the traditional financial system.

London draws a red line : no national crypto reserve

Speaking at the Digital Asset Summit organized by the Financial Times in London from May 6 to 7, 2025, the British Treasury’s Economic Secretary, Emma Reynolds, flatly ruled out the idea that the United Kingdom could establish a national crypto reserve.

Asked about the possibility of following the American momentum, Reynolds stated :

This is not the plan for us. We do not think it is appropriate for our market.

This official statement marks a clear refusal of any public bitcoin or other crypto storage strategy by the British state.

Such a stance clearly stands out from the current attitude in the United States, where the Trump administration adopts a openly crypto-friendly stance. By refusing to imitate this trend, the United Kingdom asserts a cautious and sovereign direction. Here are the key elements that structure this rejection:

• The British government does not consider bitcoin as an asset suitable for sovereign reserve management ;
• The American approach, centered on the strategic accumulation of bitcoin by the federal government, is seen as not transferable to the British context ;
• The British Treasury favors a more conservative and institutional vision of cryptos, where the state remains in the background ;
• This position fits within a broader framework of public risk aversion towards volatile assets, even amid growing adoption.

By drawing this red line, the United Kingdom clearly indicates that it does not intend to transform its reserves into crypto instruments. This choice illustrates a stance of perceived responsibility that aims to preserve financial stability and national budgetary credibility in the face of a market still deemed too uncertain.

Another ambition : regulate and innovate rather than store

While the United Kingdom refuses to use bitcoin as a reserve asset, this does not mean disengagement from the crypto field. Emma Reynolds specified that the British government is actively studying the issuance of sovereign debt via blockchain technology.

“We are examining the potential to issue public debt using distributed ledger technologies (DLT),” she stated. A vendor selection procedure is already underway, with a goal of designation “by the end of summer,” showing a clear interest in the concrete use of Web3 technologies in market infrastructures.

In another area, the Economic Secretary revealed the establishment of a high-level working group between the United Kingdom and the United States, aimed at fostering regulatory cooperation on these assets. This bilateral body, described as a “regulatory forum,” will hold a meeting as early as June.

However, Reynolds emphasized that this collaboration does not mean systematic alignment with American or European approaches. She notably clarified that the United Kingdom will not reproduce the EU’s MiCA regulatory framework, preferring an “outcome-based” approach integrated into the traditional financial services perimeter.

This strategic choice, based on the principle of “same risk, same regulation,” opens an intermediate path between American crypto activism and European normative rigor. It could enable the United Kingdom to position itself as a hub of regulated innovation, capable of attracting blockchain players while ensuring the stability of the financial system. It remains to be seen whether this hybrid stance, which favors controlled experimentation over direct investment, will be sufficient to keep London in the race for global crypto leadership.

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