Not having a Bitcoin policy today is as negligent as not having an internet policy in 1994.
Today, Bitcoin Policy UK publishes a new paper on “Bitcoin Strategies for Nation States”. We are at the same time sharing this paper with the Chancellor of the Exchequer and with the City Minister. We highlight the first mover advantage currently enjoyed by the UK as a significant state holder of Bitcoin, and suggest policies that HM Government could embrace so as to capitalise on this position. Download the full paper here.
In our strategy manifesto, we set out matters of crucial importance for the UK and for its citizens in relation to Bitcoin. The UK is currently the third largest nation state holder of Bitcoin in the world. Its 61,000 Bitcoin have a current market value in excess of three billion pounds. HMRC research shows that millions of UK citizens currently hold Bitcoin. HM Government is duty bound not to pursue policies that will diminish the value of these holdings, and should on the contrary take steps to preserve and enhance the value of the Bitcoin that it holds on the nation’s behalf.
The Free State of Saxony in Germany recently sold its Bitcoin, against the advice of German Joana Cotar MP. The amount sold by Germany is currently worth 270 million dollars more than at the time of sale. Similarly, Gordon Brown famously sold close to 400 tonnes of the United Kingdom’s gold reserves, crystallising colossal losses that now exceed twenty billion pounds.
The new Labour government should take care not to make the same mistake.
