The United Kingdom (UK) under the leadership of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is looking at granting the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) more powers to regulate the digital currency ecosystem. According to a report from the Financial Times, the collapse and eventual bankruptcy of FTX Derivatives Exchange have injected a renewed sense of urgency by all regulators to exert extra control on the industry.

The new rules which are being handled by the UK Treasury will restrain the activities of foreign crypto firms that are selling their products in the country.

The United Kingdom from the era of Rishi Sunak as the Chancellor of the Exchequer has detailed plans to float such rules that will make the crypto industry a major hub for digital currencies. The proposed new rules will limit the activities of stakeholders in this space serving as an antagonistic policy to its initial plans.

Amongst the oversight, the FCA will now exert censoring how crypto firms advertise their products in the UK in order to ensure that they are not misleading. The proposal will also detail plans or approaches by which companies can be wound down, in case they need to leave the UK or in the advent of bankruptcy.

All firms will be required to register with the FCA and pass the regulator’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) tests. According to Nikhil Rathi, the FCA’s Chief Executive Officer, the agency has recorded more firms, to the tune of 85%, failing to pass its AML tests. With the already stringent measures to issue licenses to firms, more stringent rules may further push others away.

Despite not currently having absolute powers, the FCA boss said the agency is very proactive in publicly warning on “the risks of investing in crypto, the potential to lose all your money.”

UK Recognizes the Tech Powering the Digital Currency Ecosystem

The approach by the UK government and parliament to bring sweeping regulations to guide the crypto industry is not negating the overall perception that the technology powering the digital currency ecosystem is unique and futuristic.

City Minister, Andrew Griffith noted in a statement last week that despite the bouts of bankruptcies in the industry, the focus of the government remains unchanged.

“Yes, there are questions about the future of crypto – but we’d be foolish to ignore the potential of the underlying technology,” he said adding that the financial services bill would establish a framework for regulating crypto assets and stablecoins and that the government would be “consulting on a world-leading regime for the rest of the cryptoasset market later this year.”

While the crypto industry bill is a part of the larger Financial Services Bill, its acceleration is evident in the consistent collapse of key firms in the space, and the need to safeguard the interest of consumers and investors in the United Kingdom.

 

 

 

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.