What to know:
- The government has noted the outflow of money and companies going to the UAE and thinks the time is right to try to win them back.
- The invitation coincides with UK Fintech Week and a Treasury plan to revamp payment systems with stablecoin and the spread of tokenization.
Officials working to boost the U.K. economy, connected to the government, hosted Bybit executives in London this week. This move seems aimed at replicating the success Dubai and the wider United Arab Emirates have seen with the cryptocurrency exchange, which is currently based there.
According to CEO Ben Zhou, the U.K. is actively trying to attract major companies to set up operations and create employment opportunities, while also planning to introduce supportive regulations for the crypto industry.
Bybit was created by Zhou in 2018. Four years later, the company moved its main offices to Dubai, having previously been based in Singapore. According to CoinGecko, Bybit is currently the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, behind only Binance, which established its presence in the UAE in 2025.
According to Zhou, the success of major cryptocurrency firms like Bybit and Binance in attracting other crypto businesses to the area is something the U.K. hopes to replicate.
Zhou noted a lack of growth in the U.K. crypto market. He contrasted this with the United Arab Emirates, where major exchanges like Bybit and Binance attracted smaller companies after establishing a presence, creating significant momentum.
Zhou’s visit will include discussions with the Financial Conduct Authority and members of the House of Lords. It’s happening during UK Fintech Week, as the government also plans to update payment systems using technologies like stablecoins and tokenization.
Zhou stated he’s been meeting with both the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the House of Lords to discuss the future of cryptocurrency, but didn’t specify which government department initiated the meetings.
Zhou explained they received a special invitation from an economic development board that promised access directly to the prime minister. He added that there’s a strong push to promote innovation, particularly in the cryptocurrency sector.
The Treasury, Economic Secretary Lucy Rigby, and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology all declined to comment. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) also hadn’t responded when this was published.
It’s notable that the invitation was extended given that the UAE has been directly targeted by attacks from Iran since the start of the U.S.-Israel conflict on February 28th. This has led to a significant exodus of people, with the Financial Times reporting that roughly one in eight British residents have left the country earlier this month.
According to Zhou, the U.K. government is aware of businesses and investment moving to the UAE and is now actively trying to attract them back, believing this is a particularly opportune moment to do so.
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2026-04-21 18:26