Bitcoin Policy UK (BPUK), a non-profit organization in the United Kingdom, has been established to promote the adoption of Bitcoin in the country.
The organization, which brings together environmentalists, Bitcoin experts, policymakers, tax specialists, miners, and entrepreneurs, aims to explore how Bitcoin’s burgeoning industry could benefit households, businesses, and communities in the UK.
BPUK’s primary objectives are to drive investment, generate and prepare students for the Bitcoin jobs of the future, raise awareness and education, and explore the use of wasted and stranded energy resources for Bitcoin mining.
According to Freddie New, BPUK’s head of policy, the genesis of the project was the Bitcoin Collective Conference in Edinburgh in 2022, the largest Bitcoin conference in the UK.
Most of the team had been working on Bitcoin advocacy in one way or another before the conference, but coming together like this will enable them to formalize these efforts and focus on three key areas.
These areas include 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 next generation of Bitcoiners.
BPUK is not-for-profit and hopes to raise funds through the community, tapping into the growing trend of funding projects with small amounts of BTC via the Lightning Network. The organization’s mission is to locate and harness renewable, wasted, or stranded energy across the UK.
They plan to develop small mining installations to use as proof-of-concept sites and invite British policymakers to these sites so they can see mines in action and understand more about the industry’s potential to mitigate vented methane, provide demand response for renewable grids, or act as a customer for energy that is otherwise wasted.
The UK has burgeoning renewable energy sources but lacks in hash rate, a measure of the Bitcoin protocol’s security. According to the Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance, the UK supports 0.23% of the global monthly hash rate, compared with the United States’ 37.84%.
BPUK highlighted that in light of the UK’s departure from the European Union, it could develop a Bitcoin and cryptocurrency regime separate from that of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation in Europe. The European parliamentary committee on MiCA may threaten Bitcoin mining on the continent.
BPUK co-founder Krista Edmunds took inspiration from El Salvador’s decision to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021. She believes the UK has an immense opportunity to become one of the first jurisdictions globally to embrace Bitcoin. The organization hopes to support the British people in making that happen.
On the governmental side, the policy group will have an opportunity to educate and inform. Lisa Cameron, a member of Parliament and chairperson of the Crypto and Digital Assets All-Party Parliamentary Group, said last year-
“We are on a learning curve, and it’s just very, very important because the UK government has a policy vision that the UK will become an international hub of cryptocurrency and digital assets.”
BPUK seeks to make sure that Bitcoin is included in the government’s proposals, if not at the front and center.
Bitcoin Education UK
In Summary the organization aims to raise awareness of the benefits of Bitcoin and explore ways to harness its potential to benefit UK households, businesses, and communities.
By bringing together various stakeholders, BPUK hopes to drive investment, generate employment opportunities, and support the growth of the decentralized currency’s burgeoning industry in the UK.