UK and US to sign "breakthrough" technology agreement next week, including AI and quantum computing; crypto lobby pushes for "blockchain" to be included.

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The UK and the US are preparing to sign a "breakthrough" technology cooperation agreement next week, with the new agreement focusing on cutting-edge areas such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing. This move is expected to be accompanied by a series of major investment commitments from American tech giants, while UK financial and technology industry groups are actively lobbying to include blockchain technology in this important transatlantic cooperation framework.

According to CCTV News, US President Trump will pay a state visit to the UK from September 17th to 19th. According to a statement from the British government, this agreement will be signed during President Trump’s state visit. The UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said the agreement will boost businesses and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic. The visit is expected to facilitate major investments by leading US technology companies in the UK data center sector.

According to media reports citing informed sources on the 14th, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who will accompany Trump on his visit, plan to commit to supporting billions of dollars in data center investments in the UK during the trip. In addition, according to another source, US cloud provider CoreWeave, which went public this year, is also preparing to announce an investment in the UK.

Meanwhile, a coalition of more than a dozen industry associations is urging the UK government to make blockchain technology a core part of this so-called “UK-US technology bridge.” They warn that if digital assets are excluded, the UK may lose the opportunity to shape future financial standards and be at a disadvantage in global competition.

"Breakthrough" Agreement Focuses on Frontier Technology

According to a statement from the British government, the upcoming agreement aims to deepen cooperation between the two countries in key technology sectors. The newly appointed UK Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Liz Kendall, stated:

"Cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing will transform our lives, including bringing new ways to treat diseases and improving public services."

In fact, the UK and the US have already engaged in close cooperation in a range of technological areas, including artificial intelligence, semiconductors, telecommunications, and quantum computing. The signing of this agreement is seen as a significant upgrade on the existing foundation, aiming to establish a more systematic cooperation mechanism. A UK government spokesperson said:

"The UK and the US are natural partners, and are the only two allies with trillion-dollar technology industries."

Trump’s three-day state visit will be accompanied by a delegation of senior US business executives, underlining that commercial and technological investment is one of the core areas of focus for the trip.

According to media reports citing sources, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and OpenAI’s Sam Altman are expected to announce investment support for UK data centers. In addition, asset management giant BlackRock also plans to invest up to £500 million (about $678 million USD) in the UK data center market, and its CEO Larry Fink will also accompany Trump. If these investment commitments materialize, they will provide strong impetus for the UK’s digital infrastructure and send a positive signal to investors.

Industry Groups Call for Blockchain Inclusion

While the official details of the agreement have yet to be fully disclosed, UK financial, technology, and crypto asset industry groups are jointly pressuring the government to include distributed ledger technology (DLT) in the scope of the agreement.

According to media reports citing a letter, more than a dozen groups, including the UK Cryptoasset Business Council, UK Finance, and TheCityUK, sent a letter last Thursday to UK Business Minister Peter Kyle. The letter stressed that excluding digital assets from the "UK-US Technology Bridge" would be “a missed opportunity,” adding that “this could result in the UK being marginalized as other regions take the lead in developing standards that will shape the future of finance.”

Britain’s Crypto Hub Ambitions and Regulatory Reality

The lobbying effort highlights the gap between the UK’s goals and reality in the crypto asset sector. Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised in 2022 to make the UK a “global crypto asset technology hub”, but the UK has yet to roll out comprehensive industry regulations and has fallen behind the EU, US, as well as some countries in Asia and the Middle East in crypto adoption.

The industry groups’ letter specifically pointed out stablecoins and asset tokenization as areas of “strategic relevance and importance” to both economies. Notably, the US has made regulatory progress, with President Trump in July this year signing a landmark bill on stablecoins linked to fiat currency.

Currently, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is consulting on a regulatory system for crypto assets and aims to start accepting license applications next year. The lobbying groups warned in their letter: "Without coordinated action, UK firms may face a fragmented regulatory environment, reduced access to deep transatlantic markets, and intensifying competitive pressure." Previously, UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves indicated in March after discussions with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that the UK government would work with US officials on crypto regulation plans.

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