TechFlow news, January 10 — According to Cointelegraph, on January 8 the UK Treasury revised the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, explicitly stating that cryptocurrency staking does not fall under the scope of a Collective Investment Scheme (CIS). The new rules will take effect on January 31. "Qualifying cryptoasset staking" is defined as transaction validation activities on a blockchain, distributed ledger technology network, or similar technology. Under this change, staking ETH and SOL will now be considered solely as part of the blockchain validation process, and thus will no longer be subject to regulatory requirements applicable to collective investment schemes.
Bill Hughes, Director of Global Regulatory Affairs at ConsenSys, called this a positive development, noting that CIS structures in the UK are heavily regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), requiring registration, authorization, and ongoing compliance. He emphasized: "The way blockchains operate is not an investment scheme—it's cybersecurity."
This move fulfills part of the commitment made last November by Tulip Siddiq, Economic Secretary to the UK Treasury. Siddiq previously stated at a London event that the government plans to launch a comprehensive cryptocurrency regulatory framework in early 2025, covering areas including staking services and stablecoins.
