They had previously indicated that the proposed Regulations would be considered at a plenary session in February 2023. The Parliament and the Council reached political agreement on the proposed Regulations in June 2022, so consideration of the texts by the Parliament is the next step.

On 4 January 2023 the EBA published a letter from the European Commission (dated 21 December 2022) and accompanying provisional call for advice, requesting technical advice on certain delegated acts to be adopted under MiCA. The delegated acts relate to classification of asset-reference tokens and e-money tokens and related fees. The request for advice is provisional as MiCA has not yet entered into force.

The EBA is asked to provide the technical advice by 30 September 2023.

The Commission intends to adopt the delegated acts before the application of the relevant parts of MiCA.

The reforms set out how to repeal retained EU law in financial services and replace it with a new framework tailored to the UK.

The Chancellor said to ensure the sector is prepared to "embrace and facilitate the adoption of cutting-edge technologies", the government is: 

"Setting up a Financial Market Infrastructure Sandbox in 2023, and is legislating to implement this in the Financial Services and Markets Bill (FSM Bill). This will enable firms to test and adopt new technology and innovations, such as distributed ledger technology, in providing the infrastructure services that underpin markets.

"Legislating in the FSM Bill to establish a safe regulatory environment for stablecoins – which may be used for payments – and ensure the government has the necessary powers to bring a broader range of investment-related cryptoasset activities into UK regulation.

"Publishing its formal response to the consultation on expanding the Investment Manager Exemption to include cryptoassets, which will facilitate their inclusion in the portfolios of overseas funds managed in the UK. The government intends for this change to be made through HMRC regulations this year

"Bringing forward a consultation in the coming weeks to explore the case for a central bank digital currency – a sovereign digital pound – and consult on a potential design. The Bank of England will also release a Technology Working Paper setting out cutting-edge technology considerations informing the potential build of a digital pound.

"Working with the regulators and market participants to bring forward a new class of wholesale market venue, which would operate on an intermittent trading basis. This highly innovative approach would be a global first and would act as a bridge between public and private markets, boosting the UK as a destination for all companies to get the investment they need to create jobs and grow."

The full set of reforms announced by the Chancellor can be found here.

The Bill will also enable the creation of Financial Markets Infrastructure Sandboxes – allowing firms to "test the use of new technologies and practices in financial markets, increasing efficiency, transparency and resilience of new products."

The Bill, which repeals hundreds of pieces of EU retained law, will implement the government’s vision for the sector that is "open, green, technologically advanced and globally competitive – while maintaining high levels of consumer protection."

Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, in his  Mansion House speech on 19 July2022, confirmed that to further embrace new technology and innovation the government will take forward work to understand the application of Distributed Ledger Technology to the lifecycle of a UK sovereign debt instrument, helping it to better understand the potential benefits of the technology while also supporting innovation in the wider financial services sector.