Leading from the Front
PCC and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Blockchain. (APPG Blockchain)
Phoenix Community Capital founder and CEO, Luke Sullivan has been invited to participate in an all-party parliamentary group on Blockchain (APPG Blockchain) by Professor Birgitte Andersen, CEO of London-based think-tank Big Innovation and Secretariat for the APPG Blockchain.
The invitation came while Luke was attending an event with Professor Andersen on Magna Carta Island, the place in Berkshire, England where King John was said to have signed the Magna Carta, probably the most famous charter of liberties in the world, in June 1215.
“Professor Andersen has been a supporter of us for a while,” says Luke. “We were discussing the crypto space in general, and she was like ‘oh, you should come and join our all-party group. We talk about things like this regularly and it would be good to have your voice heard at the table.’ Which was nice. It’s nice to be in the room. It’s relatively easy to be in the room. But to be a voice at the table is nice. That’s the difference.”
What is an APPG?
For those of you unfamiliar with British political machinery, the Parliament of the United Kingdom comprises the Crown (Queen Elizabeth II), the House of Commons (whose members are voted in by the public), and the House of Lords. Members of Parliament come from a variety of political parties, with the party holding the majority in the Commons forming the government. Parliament’s role is to represent the people and it debates policy, passes laws, and provides and checks the government.
An all-party parliamentary group is an informal group focussing on a particular topic or area of concern. It is composed of members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords from all political parties. Many groups involve people from outside Parliament in their activities and administration
Although they have no legislative role, APPGs wield a lot of influence. To quote jpg.com: “APPGs can play a pivotal role in British democracy and create a forum where business leaders and politicians from all parties can meet, discuss and act on issues.” It also provides an invaluable opportunity to network and create relationships with key people interested in a particular topic.
The APPG Blockchain was set up in 2018 and its official purpose as stated on the UK Parliamentary publications page is “Ensuring industry and society benefit from the full potential of blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies (DLT).”
They hold quarterly meetings and the next one - the first Luke will be attending officially - is on June 16, 2022 during Metaverse Week. “I intend to be there for the long term,” he says.
The British government’s stance on crypto, Defi and Blockchain
Asked his opinion on the UK government’s current stance on fintech, Luke says: “It’s a space that’s growing quickly. I admire the fact that they’re letting people just try things. The British government are good at that, they’re good at allowing trials to develop and finding out what works and what doesn’t work. Then they’ll come back and retroactively set regulation, which is good. It’s like science. You have to explore concepts and theories and put them into action before you can see how they work and so I quite respect where they are going with that idea.”
“It’s my ambition to make the UK a global hub for cryptoasset technology.” Rishi Sunak, British Chancellor of the Exchequer
Compared with many other countries, the UK has an open, you could even say positive, attitude to fintech. A press release from HM Treasury in April 2022 confirmed the UK’s approach to cryptoassets. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak said he wants “to ensure the UK financial services industry is always at the forefront of technology and innovation.” Adding “It’s my ambition to make the UK a global hub for cryptoasset technology.”
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury, John Glen, speaking at the Innovate Finance Global Summit at Guildhall, London in April 2022 described fintech as “a fast-moving and exciting sector”. He announced that stablecoins will be brought within legislation, paving the way for their use as a recognised form of payment in the UK. He also announced the government would be legislating for a “financial market infrastructure sandbox” to assist companies with innovation and also that they would be working with the Royal Mint on an NFT.
John Glen added “No-one knows for sure yet how Web 3.0 is going to look. But there’s every chance that blockchain is going to be more integral to its development… with a more decentralised, open and user-owned ecosystem. And we want this country to be there, leading from the front…”
What can PCC achieve as part of the APPG Blockchain?
Luke is very clear on his objectives, representing PCC as CEO. “I want the government to be fair in crypto adoption. I want the user to be put at the fore of any changes that are implemented moving forward. I don’t want crypto and the blockchain becoming a tool of control and surveillance, I want it to be something that can be adopted and integrated into normal life in a way that compliments it as opposed to oppresses it. That’s why I’m around that table.”
“It’s good to be involved in early conversations with people that are running the country.”
He believes being part of the discussion will benefit PCC. “It allows us to be agile and to learn not what the market is doing but what the industry is doing. It’s changing so quickly that it’s good to be involved in early conversations with people that are running the country because you know what they want to do. If you know what they want to do then you can do it before they want it. It just means we are on the front foot as opposed to the back foot. Being proactive as opposed to being reactive.”
He is aware that this group does not make legislation, but stresses the importance of its influence on the lawmakers. “These are the guys that go into the panels to discuss the legislation and make the decisions on what’s going to get put into legislation. It’s good to be able to impress my opinion on them.”
Just like the British Government has stated it wants to do, Phoenix Community Capital is leading from the front.
