Digital assets are increasingly treated as a core component of economic policy rather than a standalone regulatory issue in Washington. Officials are beginning to fold the industry into broader trade discussions and cross-border coordination with international allies.
Industry and government representatives from the US and UK pointed to growing bilateral efforts as digital assets move into multilateral policy forums during the DC Blockchain Summit on 17 Mar. Digital assets are now handled as a legislative and bilateral trade matter, with the Commerce Department feeding industry views into discussions with other governments and multilateral bodies, according to US Commerce Department official Bill Guidera.
Coordination is already taking shape across areas including technical standards, legal frameworks and public-sector use cases. "I need to hear from industry about your hopes, your dreams, your fears and your concerns so that we can incorporate that into our thinking and put it into effect in our negotiations with other nations, other multilateral groups and with our own policymakers," Guidera noted.
Bilateral crypto engagement
The shift in the US has already changed the pace of engagement for industry advocates. UK officials are making repeated trips to the US to meet policymakers and ensure synergy between the two nations as both sides look to optimize opportunities, according to UK-US Crypto Alliance founder Lisa Cameron.
The push for closer coordination comes after both governments established a joint Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future in September 2025. The taskforce is mandated to develop recommendations on digital assets and improve cross-border capital markets access, according to a UK government release.
Alignment meets friction
The initiative brings together treasury officials, regulators and industry participants from both sides. Part of the effort is directed towards reducing regulatory friction for firms raising capital across both markets, which remains a long-standing challenge for companies operating between the US and UK.
Alignment remains uneven despite these efforts. Officials have already clashed over how to test cross-border applications such as tokenized securities, exposing differences in how far each side is willing to go on market access. Both countries are also exploring reciprocity frameworks that would allow firms regulated in one jurisdiction to transact in tokenized equities in the other with limited additional checks, according to a Reuters report.
The debate reflects broader concerns about how policy is implemented on the ground. The UK has seen a lot of good dialogue but not a lot of actual rulemaking, while sandbox initiatives have not really been taken up in practice, according to CryptoUK board advisor Ian Taylor, who spoke at this week's DC Blockchain event.
