World premiere: the first high representative of a government from Occident who purchase Bitcoin using an Robocoin ATM

The UK government is setting up a review into the potential of virtual currencies, and whether they should be regulated, as part of a wider push to make the country the fintech capital of the world. Speaking at the launch of industry body Innovate Finance, Chancellor George Osborne told a packed audience: „I’m here today because I want the UK to lead the world in developing fintech. That’s my ambition – short and sweet.”

One of the ways he hopes to achieve this is by turning the country into a hub for the rapidly growing cryptocurrency ecosystem. Osborne says that bitcoin and its like are popular because they are cheap, quick and convenient and that „I want to see whether we can make more use of them for the benefit of the UK economy and British consumers”.

A „programme of work” will look into whether regulation should be introduced that can make it attractive for cryptocurrency firms to set up in the UK while still affording protection to people and businesses that use them.

“Among other things, [the programme] will look at whether regulation of the sector is required, so that virtual currency businesses can continue to be set up in the UK, and people and businesses can use [cryptocurrencies] safely.”

Simon Hamblin, CEO of UK bitcoin, gold and sterling exchange Netagio said: “Mr. Osborne’s comments are very encouraging and we have long awaited some direction from the government and regulators.”

Chancellor Osborne also attended a demonstration of a Robocoin ATM operated by Cointrader.net and purchased an undisclosed amount of bitcoin. According to spectators, the Chancellor greeted the demonstration with great enthusiasm. Hugh Halford-Thompson, head of UK operations at Cointrader.net, described the purchase as a “great step” towards bitcoin’s political and regulatory acceptance.

Concludes the Chancellor: „We stand at the dawn of a new era in banking. Mobile banking apps, peer to peer lending, virtual currencies – technologies such as these are going to transform our lives, and create huge economic opportunities. Today I’m taking major new steps to make sure the UK leads the world in developing these exciting technologies.”