UK MPs Call for Crypto Regulation to Make Virtual Coin Market Secure, Sustainable

The minimum state oversight should include Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and exchanges, the House of Commons’ Treasury Committee said in its special crypto report.

British MPs have urged the government and financial regulators to oversee the digital currency sector on investor protection grounds, a report by the Treasury Committee has revealed. In the report issued on Wednesday, the lawmakers claimed that introducing a regulatory framework would make the virtual coin market mature and help resolve existing problems like price volatility and fraudulent activities.

The UK government, FCA, and the Bank of England should evaluate the cryptocurrency risk and decide on the type of approach they want to be implemented, the MPs explained. An “appropriate and proportionate” framework will turn Britain into a global hub because high regulatory standards can make the domestic crypto market secure and not associated with criminal activities.

According to the legislators, the minimum regulatory package should cover virtual coin exchanges and the Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) crypto crowdfunding model.

“The implementation of crypto-asset regulation in the UK may enable the market place to move to a more mature business model that improves consumer outcomes and enables it to grow sustainably. The entry of institutional investors into the market would increase liquidity, which in itself could reduce some of the inherent risks that exist at present.”

It is “highly likely” that digital currencies like Bitcoin (BTC) are here to stay, and therefore state authorities should act, the MPs said. Parliament is waiting for an FCA response to the report in the coming months.

“The current ambiguity surrounding the Government’s and the regulators’ positions is clearly not sustainable,” lawmakers noted.

Earlier this week, a UK minister confessed that government is a passive observer of the cryptocurrency market.