A team of entrepreneurs, environmentalists, and Bitcoin advocates in the UK has come together to form the Bitcoin Policy UK (BPUK), aiming to unlock the potential of Bitcoin in the country. The BPUK comprises stakeholders, policymakers, and experts in various fields such as taxation, mining, and environmental sustainability. The group’s primary objectives are to drive investment, create Bitcoin-related job opportunities, raise awareness and education, and explore the use of wasted and stranded energy for Bitcoin mining.
According to the Head of Policy at BPUK, Freddie New, the genesis of the project was the Bitcoin Collective Conference 2022, which was the UK’s largest Bitcoin conference held in Edinburgh. While most of the team had been working on Bitcoin advocacy before the conference, coming together like this will enable them to formalize their efforts and focus on three key related areas. These are getting clear and correct information on Bitcoin to policymakers and regulators, highlighting the environmental and sustainability benefits of the mining industry, and collating and providing educational resources for the future generation of Bitcoin users.
Among the advisers and board members are familiar faces to Cointelegraph readers such as author and journalist DecentraSuze, who is a director, and Jordan Walker and Mark Morton, who are advisers. Jordan Walker, co-founder of UK Bitcoin Collective, believes that the BPUK is an essential piece of the collective puzzle to drive Bitcoin education in the UK.
The BPUK is a not-for-profit organization that hopes to raise funds through the community by tapping into the growing trend of funding projects with Satoshis, small amounts of Bitcoin, via the Lightning Network, a layer-2 payment solution built above Bitcoin. The team’s mission is to identify and harness renewable, wasted, or stranded energy across the UK.
One of the ways the team plans to achieve this is by working to identify potential sites for sustainable mining, developing small mining installations to use as “proof of concept” sites, and inviting British policymakers to these sites. This will allow policymakers to witness mines in action and hopefully understand more about the industry’s potential to mitigate vented methane, provide demand response for renewable grids, or simply act as a customer for energy that would otherwise go to waste.
The UK has burgeoning renewable energy sources but lacks in hash rate, a measure of the Bitcoin protocol’s security. Electricity costs in the UK exceed that of the US and Asia, which is partly responsible for the lack of awareness regarding Bitcoin mining in the country. Legacy media platforms have also taken aim at Bitcoin mining, leading to some confusion and a lack of understanding among policymakers. The BPUK aims to address these challenges by working to raise awareness and advocate for Bitcoin mining as a legitimate industry in the UK.
The BPUK could help the UK develop a Bitcoin and cryptocurrency regime separate from that of MiCA in Europe, especially after the UK’s departure from the European Union. The European Parliamentary Committee on Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) has proposals that may threaten Bitcoin mining on the continent. According to BPUK’s Co-Founder, Krista Edmunds, the UK has an immense opportunity to become one of the first jurisdictions globally to embrace Bitcoin. The group hopes to support the British people in making that happen.
On the governmental side, the BPUK has an opportunity to educate and inform policymakers about Bitcoin’s potential. Members of Parliament believe that the UK should become an international hub of cryptocurrency and digital assets. However, there is still some confusion surrounding Bitcoin, Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), and cryptocurrencies. As a Bitcoin-only organization, BPUK seeks to ensure that Bitcoin is included in the government’s proposals, if not at the front and center.
In conclusion, the BPUK’s formation is a significant step towards unlocking the potential of Bitcoin in the UK. The group’s goals align with the government’s vision of the UK becoming a hub for cryptocurrency and digital assets. By raising awareness, driving investment, and creating job opportunities, BPUK aims to help the UK embrace Bitcoin, but all while being mindful of its environmental impact.
