Key Takeaways
- Coinbase has released a satirical musical advertisement portraying the U.K. as plagued by economic hardship, with CEO Brian Armstrong embracing the backlash.
- George Osborne has become the latest former chancellor to slam Britain’s crypto standing.
- Osborne argued that the U.K. is losing ground to the U.S., EU, and Asia in crypto regulation.
U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has sparked controversy with a viral musical advertisement satirizing Britain’s ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
The release of the now banned ad coincides with fresh warnings from a former U.K. Chancellor, who warned that the country is rapidly falling behind crypto innovation compared to the rest of the world.
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Coinbase Mocks Britain
In the advertisement, Coinbase portrays Britain as a deteriorating society, featuring a satirical look at unaffordable housing, unemployment, and rising living costs.
The two-minute musical number sings: “We ain’t got no troubles, no reason to complain because here in Great Old Britain, we just love it when it rains.”
Scenes include a man in a leaking house, a woman unable to pay her bills, and mass layoffs in office settings.
One woman in a shop sings, “These fish fingers are a steal… just one hundred quid a meal,” with the surrounding streets shown in the ad littered with rubbish and swarming with rats.
The advertisement has reportedly been banned from airing by U.K. television networks—a move welcomed by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.
“We welcome the attacks and any other attempts to censor this message, as it just helps it spread,” Armstrong posted on X.
Armstrong emphasized that the message was not politically charged against any specific party in the U.K.
“Needing to update the system and improve society is not a political statement on either party in the U.K.,” he said.
He also noted that the critique wasn’t exclusive to Britain, referencing similar advertisements aimed at the U.S.
“It’s a statement about how the traditional financial system is not working for many people and how crypto represents a way to improve that,” he added.
Former Chancellors Criticize U.K. Crypto Policy
On Monday, former Chancellor George Osborne wrote in the Financial Times t hat the U.K. is “being completely left behind” on crypto and stablecoin development.
Osborne, who now sits on Coinbase’s global advisory council, urged Chancellor Rachel Reeves to follow the U.S. Congress’s lead and implement a legal framework for crypto.
“The chancellor says she’ll ‘drive forward’ on stablecoins, whatever that means, while the Bank of England governor remains unconvinced that commercial banks should issue them,” he wrote.
“This hesitation risks irrelevance,” Osborne warned.
He argued that the U.K. is falling behind the U.S., EU, and Asia, all of which have taken early steps to legislate the sector.
“The crypto revolution may have started with plans to replace the dollar as the world’s reserve currency, but it is reinforcing its dominance,” he wrote.
“Britain’s current approach ensures the pound won’t even play a supporting role.”
This isn’t the first time a former chancellor has spoken out against Britain’s global standing in the crypto industry.
In 2022, former chancellor Philip Hammond said it was “frankly quite shocking” the U.K. had fallen behind other parts of the world in crypto regulation.
Hammond told Bloomberg that the U.K. had just one year to catch up globally or it risks losing its leadership in financial services.
U.S. Vs. U.K.
Osborne also criticized current U.K. proposals, which would require pound-linked stablecoins to hold strict central bank reserves.
By contrast, under the U.S. GENIUS Act, dollar-backed stablecoins can be supported by a broader range of high-quality liquid assets, making them more attractive.
“For sterling stablecoins, you’ll pay a fee; for dollar stablecoins, there are minimal transaction costs and you may earn a return,” Osborne wrote.
“No prizes for guessing which will dominate.”
He predicted that major institutions like JPMorgan would proceed with stablecoin issuance regardless of the Bank of England’s position.
Noting that 99% of today’s stablecoins are dollar-backed, Osborne argued that mandating sterling stablecoins to be backed solely by central bank reserves “guarantees that they won’t be used.”
He dismissed government attempts to blame regulators for inaction as a “lame excuse.”
“Rachel Reeves rightly says we’ve all become too risk averse,” he added. “We became the world’s financial centre because we weren’t afraid of change.”
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