UK should tax crypto buyers to boost stock investing, economy, says banker

Published

8 months ago

March 24, 2025

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UK should tax crypto buyers to boost stock investing, economy, says banker

The UK should begin taxing crypto purchases in a bid to sway Britons to invest in local stocks, which could boost the country’s economy, says the chair of investment bank Cavendish, Lisa Gordon.

“It should terrify all of us that over half of under-45s own crypto and no equities,” Gordon told The Times in a March 23 report. “I would love to see stamp duty cut on equities and applied to crypto.”

Currently, the UK lumps a 0.5% tax on shares listed on the London Stock Exchange, the country’s largest securities market, which brings in around 3 billion British pounds ($3.9 billion) a year in tax revenue.

Gordon added that a cut could sway people to put their savings into shares of local companies, which could then spark other firms to go public in the UK and help the economy.

In comparison, she called crypto “a non-productive asset” that “doesn’t feed back into the economy.”

“Equities provide growth capital to companies that employ people, innovate and pay corporation tax. That is a social contract. We shouldn’t be afraid of advocating for that.”

The country’s Financial Conduct Authority said in November that crypto ownership rose to 12% of adults, equivalent to around 7 million people. A majority of crypto owners, 36%, were under the age of 55 years old.

Gordon said that many had “shifted to saving rather than investing,” which she claimed “is not going to fund a viable retirement.”

A 2022 FCA survey found that 70% of adults had a savings account, while 38% either directly held shares or held them through an account allowing nearly 20,000 British pounds ($26,000) of tax-free savings a year — around three in four 18-24 years olds held no investments.

But in a follow-up survey, the regulator reported that in the 12 months to January 2024, the cost of living crisis had seen 44% of all adults either stop or reduce saving or investing, while nearly a quarter used savings or sold their investments to cover day-to-day costs.

Gordon is a member of the Capital Markets Industry Taskforce, a group of industry executives aiming to revive the local market, which Cavendish would benefit from as it advises companies on how to navigate possible public offerings.

Consulting giant EY reported in January that the London stock market had one of its “quietest years on record,” with just 18 companies listing last year, down from 23 in 2023.

At the same time, EY said 88 companies delisted or transferred from the exchange, with many saying they moved due to “declining liquidity and lower valuations compared to other markets” such as the US.

However, Gordon claimed the UK is a “safe haven” compared to markets such as the US, which has lost trillions of dollars in its stock markets due to President Donald Trump’s tariff threats and fears of a recession.

Crypto markets have also slumped alongside US equities, with Bitcoin (BTC) trading down 11% over the past 30 days and struggling to maintain support above $85,000 since early March.

In the past 24 hours, at least, Bitcoin is up 2%, trading around $85,640.

Magazine: Memecoins are ded — But Solana ‘100x better’ despite revenue plunge

Politics

Prediction markets bet on Coinbase-linked Hassett as top Fed pick

Published

3 hours ago

December 1, 2025

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Prediction markets bet on Coinbase-linked Hassett as top Fed pick

Prediction markets Polymarket and Kalshi view Kevin Hassett, US President Donald Trump’s National Economic Council director, as the favorite to replace Jerome Powell as the next Federal Reserve chair.

The odds of Hassett filling the seat have spiked to 66% on Polymarket and 74% on Kalshi at the time of writing. Hassett is widely viewed as crypto‑friendly thanks to his past role on Coinbase’s advisory council, a disclosed seven‑figure stake in the exchange and his leadership of the White House digital asset working group.

Founder and CEO of Wyoming-based Custodia Bank, and a prominent advocate for crypto-friendly regulations, Caitlin Long, commented on X:

“If this comes true & Hassett does become Fed chairman, anti-#crypto people at the Fed who still hold positions of power will finally be out (well, most of them anyway). BIG changes will be coming to the Fed.”

Kevin Hassett’s crypto credentials

Hassett is a long-time Republican policy economist who returned to Washington as Trump’s top economic adviser and has now emerged as the market-implied frontrunner to lead the Fed.

His financial disclosure reveals at least a seven‑figure Coinbase stake and compensation for serving on the exchange’s Academic and Regulatory Advisory Council, placing him unusually close to the crypto industry for a potential Fed chair.

Still, crypto has been burned before by reading too much into “crypto‑literate” resumes. Gary Gensler arrived at the Securities and Exchange Commission with MIT blockchain courses under his belt, but went on to preside over a wave of high‑profile enforcement actions, some of which critics branded as “Operation Chokepoint 2.0.”

A Hassett-led Fed might be more open to experimentation and less reflexively hostile to bank‑crypto activity. Still, the institution’s mandate on financial stability means markets should not assume a one‑way bet on deregulation.

Supervision pushback inside the Fed

The Hassett odds have jumped just as the Fed’s own approach to bank supervision has received pushback from veterans like Fed Governor Michael Barr, who earned his reputation as one of Operation Chokepoint 2.0’s key architects.

According to Caitlin Long, while he Barr “was Vice Chairman of Supervision & Regulation he did Warren’s bidding,” and he “has made it clear he will oppose changes made by Trump & his appointees.”

On Nov. 18, the Fed released new Supervisory Operating Principles that shift examiners toward a “risk‑first” framework, directing staff to focus on material safety‑and‑soundness risks rather than procedural or documentation issues.

In a speech the same day, Barr warned that narrowing oversight, weakening ratings frameworks and making it harder to issue enforcement actions or matters requiring attention could leave supervisors slower to act on emerging risks, arguing that gutting those tools may repeat pre‑crisis mistakes.

Days later, in Consumer Affairs Letter 25‑1, the Fed clarified that the new Supervisory Operating Principles do not apply to its Consumer Affairs supervision program (an area under Barr’s committee as a governor).

If prediction markets are right and a crypto‑friendly Hassett inherits this landscape, his Fed would not be writing on a blank slate but stepping into an institution already mid‑pivot on how hard (and where) it leans on banks.