PANews reported on January 10 that according to CryptoSlate, the UK Treasury has amended the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA), which will take effect on January 31 and exclude cryptocurrency pledges from the classification of collective investment schemes. According to this change, staking ETH and SOL will only be regarded as a blockchain verification process and will no longer be subject to regulatory requirements applicable to collective investment schemes. Previously, due to vague regulatory definitions, pledges were at risk of being classified as traditional collective investment tools, which are subject to stricter FSMA regulations.

The amendment clarifies that staking involves participants locking cryptocurrencies to verify blockchain transactions and ensure network security, which is essentially different from collective investment schemes and requires a tailored regulatory framework. Bill Hughes, a lawyer at ConsenSys, welcomed the move as an important step for the industry and stressed that British law has traditionally taken a tough regulatory approach to collective investment schemes, which could hinder industry development. It is worth noting that the move is consistent with the UK's broader strategy of promoting innovation in the cryptocurrency field while maintaining appropriate regulation to protect market participants.