Matt Hancock hasn’t always backed the right horse – but he has no regrets about his support for crypto in spite of the recent market downturn, the British lawmaker told CoinDesk.

Hancock – who served as health minister during the COVID-19 pandemic during the Boris Johnson administration until he was caught in a lockdown-busting embrace with a female aide – swiveled to crypto advocacy around the beginning of this year.

A backbench member of Parliament from the ruling Conservative Party, Hancock is now one of the most high-profile crypto lobbyists in British politics – with an insight into the government’s thinking as it steers through crucial digital asset laws.

Hancock supported pro-crypto Finance Minister Rishi Sunak over eventual winner Liz Truss in the recent Conservative Party leadership contest. Hancock attempted to replace Theresa May as prime minister back in 2019, but pulled out of the contest that Johnson eventually won.

Despite 2022’s hiccups in crypto markets (as well as his political career), Hancock, still a lawmaker, is no less convinced by the power of digital assets to improve financial services.