A group of U.K. lawmakers called on the government to introduce crypto financial services regulations sooner rather than later and to appoint a dedicated official to oversee the process.
In a report published Monday, the Crypto and Digital Assets All Parliamentary Group (APPG) set out that cryptocurrency is here to stay and needs immediate regulation. The group, which includes lawmakers from different political parties and both houses of parliament, made 53 recommendations for regulating crypto in the country.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government recently closed a consultation proposing that the U.K. regulates crypto by bringing it into the scope of existing financial services regulations. CryptoUK, a lobby group affiliated with the APPG, said in its response to the consultation that it wanted the U.K. to have specific crypto regulations in place within a year, a target the government has said it hopes to deliver.
Bills are already being debated in parliament to give lawmakers more powers over the crypto sector as well as help law enforcement agencies seize and freeze crypto.
Currently, crypto companies have to be registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) if they want to operate in the country.
“Given the rapid growth of cryptocurrency and digital assets, the timing of this report is vital to protect consumers whilst ensuring the UK’s leadership in this sector can be realized,” Lisa Cameron chair of the APPG said in a press release on Monday.
The crypto APPG inquiry was launched in August last year. It followed an April announcement by Sunak, then the country’s finance minister, that the government wanted to make the country a crypto hub. As part of the inquiry, the APPG acquired views from members of the crypto industry, regulators and the general public.
In their report, lawmakers laid out what the government official’s role would consist of and the current approaches of regulators like the Bank of England, Advertising Standards Authority and FCA to regulating crypto. The lawmakers also wrote about the potential of a central bank digital currency, which the government is consulting on before it makes its decision on whether to issue one.
