Speaking at the Finance Magnates London Summit (FMLS:25), former MP and UK-US Crypto Alliance founder Dr Lisa Cameron warned that the UK risks forfeiting its ambition to be a crypto hub unless lawmakers move faster on regulation and education.
She described how, when she first examined crypto policy in 2021, there had been “no debates or mentions” of cryptocurrency in the House of Commons despite almost four million UK citizens already engaging with digital assets under Financial Conduct Authority estimates.
Cameron, a clinical psychologist by training and the first in that profession elected to Westminster, recounted that her journey into digital assets began when a constituent approached her in 2021 after losing significant funds in a crypto scam and seeking redress.
Dr. Lisa Cameron speaking at FMLS:25
“Well, we had had no debates or mentions in the House of Commons in 2021 through a debate process of cryptocurrency. So, I thought to myself, perhaps my constituent’s experience is out of the ordinary.”
“And then I went to look at the research, and I was astounded to find out that in 2021, almost 4 million people in the UK were already engaged in cryptocurrency, and either trading or engaged in the sector, according to the FCA figures.”
Building a Crypto Literacy Base in Westminster
To address that gap, Cameron launched the first All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Cryptocurrency and Digital Assets in the Commons in 2021 and chaired it for four years, focusing initially on basic education for MPs and peers.
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“I had so many businesses come to meet with us, to meet with the parliamentarians. I remember we had an uphill struggle in our learning and in thinking about the industry itself. We even had cowboys come to the Parliament, and I mean actually dressed as cowboys.”
The APPG nonetheless ramped up teach-ins through 2021–22, bringing in industry experts to decode jargon and help MPs simply understand what they were being lobbied about.
From Zero Mentions to Political Priority
By 2023–24, research by advisory firm Greengage showed that parliamentary references to cryptocurrency and digital assets had climbed from zero mentions in 2021 to more than 200, much of it driven by the APPG’s work.
Cameron said the growing volume of debates and questions, often directed at City Minister Andrew Griffith, began to force departments to develop positions and technical understanding, gradually moving crypto up the policy agenda.
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“By that point, I think the Minister, the City Minister, who was Andrew Griffiths at the time, was a bit sick of me lodging for debates on crypto and asking him questions because his department had to keep going and finding out information.”
“But I think we were all learning and it was a very, very exceptional time to take things forward. Of course, at the time, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that he wanted the UK to be a crypto hub.”
Jurisdictional Competition and the UK-US Sandbox
Cameron stressed that the UK cannot view its regulatory choices in isolation, pointing to Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) and Singapore as examples of jurisdictions that have drawn firms by pairing innovation with clear guardrails.
She said the more balanced approach to compliance and consumer protection in the UAE had already prompted a “stream of companies” to relocate there, a trend she believes has continued.
“So, in the past year, since stepping down from parliament, I’ve become chair of the UK-US Crypto Alliance, and we’ve had members of parliament, House of Lords, out to Washington to speak with the Crypto Task Force, there with Commissioner Pearce and Chair Atkins, to speak about a UK-US sandbox, which is now being worked on, a joint sandbox between both”
Call for ‘Light-Touch’ Rules – with Guardrails
Looking ahead, Cameron said the UK is watching US legislative efforts such as the proposed GENIUS Act and the Clarity Act as it considers its own next steps after financial services and promotion rules affecting crypto.
She argued that Britain should consider a “light touch” framework that allows innovators to “do their thing within guardrails”, with consumer protection at the core but without stifling entrepreneurship, investment and growth.
“The UK should be pivoting towards a light touch regulatory framework, allowing the innovators to do their thing within guardrails, of course. And making sure that we, of course, have consumer protection at the core, but that we try to enable entrepreneurship, investment, growth and innovation in the UK.”
“And I’m just back from Singapore, which is another jurisdiction which I think is very much at the forefront of progress in this industry. So, for the next year, what I want to do is make sure that members of the Parliament and the members of the House of Lords have access to information, not just about what we’re doing here, but about cross-jurisdictional progress that’s being made.”
Industry urged to engage MPs directly
One of Cameron’s strongest messages to the FMLS audience was that industry cannot outsource engagement to lobby groups alone. She asked attendees how many had contacted their own MP about their digital assets work and found only a handful of hands raised.
She urged firms to attend all-party groups on crypto, blockchain, digital money and fintech, and to use constituency surgeries to explain where jobs, skills and future growth are emerging.
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“And first of all, I went off to Zug, to Crypto Valley, courtesy of the Swiss Embassy, who were very keen that I engaged with their legislators to find out how they were beginning to put their regulatory processes together.”
A Generational Mandate from the ‘Children’s Parliament’
Perhaps the most striking anecdote came from a session with the UK’s Children’s Parliament, where representatives aged roughly seven to 15 met MPs, peers and industry figures, including a Roblox executive.
It also reinforced her view that Parliament has a duty to design regulatory and education systems that create future-facing jobs rather than replicating traditional career paths such as “doctor or lawyer”.
“And what I would leave you with is in our learning, not only were we way behind on jargon, way behind on the industry itself, way behind on blockchain technology and Web3 and most of those issues in 2021, but when the Children’s Parliament came to speak to us, now we have a Children’s Parliament across the UK, children aged from around seven or eight up to 15 representing their constituencies across the United Kingdom who come to tell us what’s important to them.”
A Race Against a Closing Window
Cameron closed by warning that there is a “window of opportunity” for the UK to shape on-chain innovation that is already beginning to narrow as other centers move faster.
She plans to continue briefing legislators in Spain, the EU, Italy, Germany, Singapore and the US over the next year to give Westminster a clearer picture of where Britain stands in the global hierarchy – and what changes are needed to catch up.
Her appeal to the FMLS audience was blunt: if innovators want to build a future “made in the UK”, they must help educate the politicians who will decide whether those businesses stay in Britain or go elsewhere.
