The UK’s self-regulating cryptocurrency industry trade group, CryptoUK has answered the Treasury Select Committee’s ongoing digital currency inquiry with a written response that urges MPs to enact new regulatory guidelines for the industry. The proposed rules would be designed to ensure that the UK's digital currency industry is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The rules would include empowering the FCA to issue Crypto-Licenses for brokers, exchanges, and other entities that deal with transactions involving fiat and digital currencies. In addition, the group is calling for increased investor transparency, new operational standards, and stricter anti-money-laundering rules.
CryptoUK chair Iqbal Gandham suggested that the reforms should be easy to implement:
“Introducing a requirement for the FCA to regulate the 'on-off' ramps between crypto and fiat currencies is well within the remit of HM Treasury. Based on our analysis, this could be achieved relatively easily, without the need for primary legislation, and would have a huge impact, both in reducing consumer risk and improving industry standards.
“This is an approach which is already working well in other countries, who are now taking the lead over the UK, for example in Japan and Gibraltar."
