If you actually read the UK crypto bill[1] rather than what Coinbase says about it, you find that it's quite restrictive.
"The government’s view is that cryptoassets and the activities
underpinning their use should follow the standards expected of other
similar financial services activities, commensurate to the risks they
pose, while harnessing potential benefits of the technology behind
them."
...
"HM Treasury proposes to capture
cryptoasset activities provided in or to the United Kingdom."
...
"For cryptoasset issuance and disclosures, the government
proposes to follow a similar approach to that for securities and apply
regulation when the asset is admitted to trading on a regulated
cryptoasset trading venue and therefore becomes exchangeable for fiat
currency, or subject to a public offer."
...
"The government considers public offers of cryptoassets –
including ICOs where a fund raiser creates new tokens and sells
them to investors – may meet the definition of a security offering"
...
"In practice many cryptoasset exchanges play a central role in the
cryptoasset ecosystem – conducting many more activities than solely
operating a trading venue (e.g. custody, post-trade activities,
proprietary trading, lending and admission of cryptoassets to a
platform). Some venues may also issue their own native cryptoasset or
act as intermediaries for the distribution of stablecoins. This is
sometimes referred to as “vertical integration” or “agglomeration”.
Accordingly, the government expects, as a minimum, that these
entities follow rules covering all of these activities – not just those
relevant for operating a trading venue. To illustrate, a major cryptoasset
exchange would be required to comply with the issuance and
disclosure rules for assets that they admit for trading (Chapter 5), the
rules relating to the operation of a trading venue (Chapter 6) and
certain surveillance and reporting requirements to detect and prevent
market abuse (Chapter 9). Additionally, and depending on the sorts of
activities they undertake, they would also need to comply with rules for
market intermediaries (Chapter 7), cryptoasset custody rules for
cryptoassets which they safeguard or safeguard and administer
(Chapter 8) and rules for operating a cryptoasset lending platform
(Chapter 10)."
All this is close to what the SEC requires. If it works like a security, a broker, or an exchange, it's regulated like a security, a broker, or an exchange.
This is probably more "clarity" than Coinbase wants.
[1] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/...