Crypto Gains Edge Over Traditional Finance: Leaked Video Reveals Apparent Deficiencies in UK's Financial System via Coinbase
In the rapidly evolving world of cryptocurrencies, three major economies—the UK, US, and EU—are treading different paths in establishing regulatory frameworks.
As of mid-2025, the UK is embarking on a phased regulatory journey for cryptoassets, aiming to bring various crypto activities under the purview of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) by the end of 2026. This includes consultations on custody, trading platforms, lending, DeFi, and stablecoins. The UK government plans to allow retail access to crypto exchange-traded notes (ETNs) starting October 2025, albeit under strict conditions and without Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protection for investors.
In contrast to the UK's phased approach, the US, in early 2025, established a dedicated SEC Crypto Task Force to develop clearer crypto regulation. The US's focus is on consumer protection and fostering innovation, albeit with strong enforcement measures.
The EU, on the other hand, leans towards a more rigid regulatory model, with comprehensive and prescriptive regulations like the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework. This framework emphasizes harmonization and robust investor protections, but with less emphasis on regulatory sandboxing or phased adaptability seen in the UK and US.
Coinbase, a leading crypto platform, has been vocal about the UK's financial system, publishing a satirical video titled "Everything is Fine" on platform X. The video criticizes the UK's financial system, highlighting issues such as rising prices, stagnant wages, and the failure of the traditional financial system to serve citizens. The video mocks high living costs, with a sarcastic lyric about expensive fish fingers, and points out that those most affected by financial vulnerability include zero-hour workers, families without savings, and individuals juggling multiple debts.
The video's caption reads: "If everything is fine, then don't change anything at all. But when the financial system isn't working for so many people in the UK, it needs to be updated."
The Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) published a report highlighting the UK's lack of action in crypto regulation. The report reveals a 59% increase in high-debt individuals with average incomes, a 45% spike in financial distress among younger adults, a 15% increase in the number of people relying on food banks, and a 12% rise in the number of people surviving purely on credit.
According to Fair4All Finance's 2024 report, 44% of adults in the UK (20.3 million people) are now financially vulnerable, marking a 16% increase since 2022.
As the UK grapples with its regulatory stance, jurisdictions like MiCA in the EU and the US SEC's evolving crypto stance have advanced regulatory clarity. Crypto platforms, such as Coinbase, are seizing this opportunity to increase their customer base and overturn the norm in the UK.
The UK's policymakers are experiencing a policy procrastination and lack of clear direction on blockchain technologies. The UK's next move in crypto regulation will make or break its standing in the industry.
Coinbase is reiterating the fundamental crypto narrative: decentralization, transparency, and financial access. Once hailed as a potential "gold standard" for digital asset regulation, the UK now appears paralyzed by indecision. Coinbase is helping to present digital assets as an alternative to collapsing systems, particularly for the UK population of nearly 4 million adults who have to survive on credit.
The UK's regulatory landscape for cryptocurrencies is a work in progress. As the country navigates its way through this evolving landscape, it is crucial to strike a balance between investor protection and fostering innovation, carving a middle path between the prescriptive EU approach and the US's innovation-centric but enforcement-heavy model.
- Coinbase, a major crypto platform, has criticized the UK's financial system, releasing a satirical video titled "Everything is Fine" that highlights rising prices, stagnant wages, and the failures of the traditional system to serve citizens.
- The video mocks high living costs, with a sarcastic lyric about expensive fish fingers, and points out that those most affected by financial vulnerability include zero-hour workers, families without savings, and individuals juggling multiple debts.
- As the UK's regulatory landscape for cryptocurrencies is a work in progress, jurisdictions like MiCA in the EU and the US SEC's evolving crypto stance have provided regulatory clarity.
- Crypto platforms, such as Coinbase, are using this clearer regulatory environment to increase their customer base and challenge the status quo in the UK.
- It is crucial for the UK's policymakers to strike a balance between investor protection and fostering innovation, carving a middle path between the prescriptive EU approach and the US's innovation-centric but enforcement-heavy model in regulating blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies.
