I agree with your main premise and this is not an argument against it but I have to ask ... do we have crazy regulation and crazy taxes in the UK?

The regulation that exists concerns centralised blockchain cryptocurrencies set up in the UK which have to register with the Financial Conduct Authority. I'm not opposed to that because it will go some way to stemming fraudsters and may even control the banks and financial instituations although I'm not holding my breath. In any event, it appears our regulation is far less draconian than the European Union's MICA regulations - possibly the only benefit of Brexit that I am aware of (and I take your argument about the reality of focusing on Europe - a relatively affluent declining part of the globe).

With regard to taxation, we have guidance only. Any attempts to get clarity from HMRC result in a referral to the guidance that you were seeking clarity about. If that's crazy I agree, but there's a lot of room for flexibility and negotiation.

I was pleasantly surprised at the workshops I ran in the summer at the increased awareness of and experience with cryptos. Sadly, some was through a fairly common scam, but lots of women had awareness and knowledge and were holding small amounts of crypto. Most of them about £100, which is the most frequent amount of holdings among crypto holders.

I know this is all moot as the UK is not going roar ahead with adoption 😁 I thought about tagging you in this other conversation because of some of the discussions you and I have had about developing a plural income for writers - would love to have your thoughts there, too.