By Carlos Terenzi
The United Kingdom is not yet planning any regulation in the cryptocurrency market. Recent reports suggest that the government has yet to assess risks and benefits of dealing associated to virtual currencies.
UK Not Making Moves Yet; Despite Volatile Market
Cryptocurrencies continue to expand all over the world. However, governments and countries are questioning the influence these revolutionary assets have on the economy. About this, there is not a clear answer.
In the last weeks, Bitcoin has experienced an increased volatility, something that called the attention of Warwick’s Lord Taylor.
Indeed, he asked for the Government’s assessment of the new reports about cryptocurrency situation in the country.
Lord Taylor is interested in the effects that these assets could have on the blockchain industry.
Nonetheless, the answer provided was not enough. The government still needs to understand which are the implications that volatility has in the UK. Lord Bates, Minister of State in the Department for International Development said that the government will be closely tracking cryptocurrency developments.
The Cryptoassets Taskforce, launched in March, has been founded by the Bank of England, the HM Treasury, and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This institution aims to better understand the risks and benefits regarding crypto assets. Moreover, they will also be proposing possible regulations to regulate the market and protect investors.
The Bank of England has also been analyzing the situation in the crypto market. At the moment, the central bank has no plans to create a central bank digital currency (CBDC). In the past, the bank released a paper in which they analyze the implications of issuing a CBD.
The bank stated:
“Central banks are increasingly studying the monetary policy and financial system implications of issuing central bank digital currencies (CBDC). Even though the Bank of England does not currently plan to issue CBDC, it recently published an extensive research agenda on the topic.”
Clearly, regulatory agencies in the UK are analyzing the market but they have no specific regulation in mind.
In general, most of the governments have taken a passive stance towards virtual currencies waiting for other states to take decisions first.
Carlos is an international relations’ analyst specializing in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. Since 2017, Carlos has written extensively for UseTheBitcoin and other leading cryptocurrency sites; with over 2,000 articles published.
