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Late last year it expanded existing rules on how financial firms are allowed to market themselves to crypto businesses. MiCA’s stablecoin rules are in place for exchanges, wallets, and other https://www.xcritical.com/ crypto asset service providers. Since the collapse in November 2022 of global cryptocurrency exchange FTX with a reported $9 billion shortfall, the cryptocurrency market has recently undergone a much-needed resurgence in confidence.
UK pushes ahead with plans to bring crypto under mainstream regulation
In contrast, decentralisation – a commonly perceived feature of cryptocurrencies – raises regulatory concerns because cryptocurrency regulation uk it puts significant responsibility on individuals to protect their assets. The risk of people losing access to their digital wealth due to forgotten passwords or lost hardware remains a challenge for decentralisation and may strengthen the appeal of stablecoins. The government launched a consultation on cryptoassets and stablecoins last year and has today published its response setting out the next steps. This is part of our plan to ensure the UK financial services industry is always at the forefront of technology and innovation. Learn more about our work on cryptoassets to ensure consumers are protected, market integrity is upheld, and competition works in the interest of consumers.
Investment products that reference cryptoassets
The Treasury has not yet confirmed which stablecoins will be regulated; well-known ones include Tether and Binance USD. Stablecoins are designed to have a stable value linked to traditional currencies or assets like gold. The final regulations are expected to be made in 2025 to come into force on 1 January 2026. While the ousted Tory government pushed to introduce new laws this summer, it will take the new Labour government at least another year to regain the momentum, says Gillian Lynch, head of Europe and Ireland at Gemini.
Cryptocurrency: UK Treasury to regulate some stablecoins
- They plan to use existing regulations for the industry, rather than creating a bespoke regime.
- The Treasury has been consulting on its proposed rules for the sector since February, in line with the Conservative Government’s objective to turn the country into a crypto hub.
- GTIL and its member firms are not agents of, and do not obligate, one another and are not liable for one another’s acts or omissions.
- The AML/CTF regime will aim to ensure that businesses carrying on in-scope cryptoasset activity can spot, disrupt or stop money being laundered through the system.
The objective of the Taskforce was to bring the Treasury, Bank of England and the FCA together to assess the potential impact of cryptoassets and DLT in the UK and to consider appropriate policy responses. In July 2019, The Economic Crime Plan announced that from January 10, 2020 the FCA will be the Anti Money Laundering and Countering Terrorist Financing (AML/CTF) supervisor for firms carrying on certain cryptoasset activity. See our dedicated cryptoassets AML regime webpages for more information. In April 2022, the government committed to introducing a new regulatory regime for cryptoassets, reflecting the risks and opportunities they present. There are notable differences between MiCAR and the UK’s regulatory plans, such as categorisation of cryptoassets, the scope of regulated activities and disclosure obligations for cryptoasset issuers.
Government sets out plan to make UK a global cryptoasset technology hub
Jason Guthrie, European head of digital assets at the financial firm, Wisdom Tree, said the sector had a bright future. The “devil would be in the detail”, he told BBC News, but he “absolutely welcomed” regulators looking at cryptocurrency – and the right regulation would be in the interests of the industry as well as customers. This consultation paper sets out proposals for this future regime and marks the next phase of the government’s approach to regulating cryptoassets. It builds on previous HM Treasury proposals, which focussed on stablecoins and the financial promotion of cryptoassets.
The Treasury also said it planned to consult on regulating a much wider range of digital currencies later this year, without saying which they might be. The OECD released CARF in June 2023 as a way to align global tax reporting rules in the crypto sector … At the start of the year the US approved spot bitcoin ETFs, following countries in the EU, Australia and Canada. The newly approved group of US spot bitcoin ETFs, including ones issued by BlackRock and Fidelity, have collectively pulled $10bn since their launch in January, according to crypto investment group CoinShares. Almost 40% of respondents who did not own crypto said regulatory concerns kept them from entering the market.
As is common in emerging technology markets, the crypto sector continues to experience high levels of volatility and a number of recent failures have exposed the structural vulnerability of some business models in the sector. The proposed regulations were released as part of the Labour government’s first budget tabled Wednesday. “With increased insight and data due to a longer period of trading history, the FCA believes exchanges and professional investors should now be able to better establish whether crypto-ETNs meet their risk appetite,” the regulator said in a statement.
The UK released draft regulations Wednesday that would require entities in the cryptocurrency sector to report tax-related information to authorities using rules developed by the OECD. Issuers can apply to list notes that are linked to the bitcoin and ethereum coins on the London Stock Exchange from April. ETNs are debt securities that track an underlying asset but are traded and settled through a central market entity like a stock exchange and securities depository. Stablecoins are designed to maintain a steady value by being connected to fiat currency, offering a less volatile option compared to cryptoassets.
The so-called crypto winter has raised questions about whether the industry can ever be effectively regulated. But with the right form of regulation, others will argue, the industry could truly blossom. Part of the original appeal of cryptocurrency was its independence of traditional financial networks. But I expect the consultation to be fiery, with many different groups wading into the debate about how to tame the wild beast of Bitcoin and other digital coins.
The UK’s financial regulator will allow some bitcoin-linked securities to be listed on the stock market, in a softening of its tough stance on digital assets as investors around the world snap up funds investing directly in cryptocurrencies. It’s my ambition to make the UK a global hub for cryptoasset technology, and the measures we’ve outlined today will help to ensure firms can invest, innovate and scale up in this country. In June 2023, we published our final rules for cryptoasset financial promotions in PS23/6. Ambitious plans to protect consumers and grow the economy by robustly regulating cryptoasset activities have been announced by the government.
Lynch’s prediction is more pessimistic than other UK crypto insiders I’ve spoken to, who agree we could see laws proposed as early as the end of the year. The government’s consultation on its proposals will close on 30 April, with any responses then considered by ministers. “Having a solid a regulatory framework, having enforcement capabilities, is really important for consumer confidence,” Mr Guthrie said.
So-called “stablecoins” will become recognised forms of payment to give people confidence in using digital currencies, it said. The Treasury has announced that it will regulate some cryptocurrencies as part of a wider plan to make the UK a hub for digital payment companies. Regulators in other major markets have become increasingly comfortable with investors buying crypto-linked securities, as long as the securities are in a regulated product. The Financial Conduct Authority said on Monday it would “not object” to the creation of bitcoin and ethereum-backed exchange traded notes for professional investors. Bim Afolami, the minister responsible for the financial services sector, promised they’d be ready by summer 2024 — but a snap election that Labour won put paid to that. This confidence has been fuelled by the participation or association of major financial institutions, such as BlackRock and Fidelity, including through the launch of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Bill giving regulators the power to supervise crypto and stablecoins was approved by King Charles Thursday, marking the last formal stage that makes the bill law. Meanwhile, the US is moving to craft regulations amid rising concern that the cryptocurrency industry is a haven for criminals. The digital tokens, which emerged in 2014, can be thought of as certificates of ownership for virtual or physical assets. NFTs have a unique digital signature which means they cannot be copied or replicated. NFTs are assets in the digital world that can be bought and sold, but which have no tangible form of their own. Cryptocurrencies are virtual or digital currencies that can be traded or used to buy goods and services, although not many shops accept them yet and some countries have banned them altogether.