Crypto Frontline

The United Kingdom could accelerate on the path towards cryptocurrency regulation after a report on digital assets published by the Treasury Select Committee on Wednesday called for more regulation in order to have a greater protection for consumers and for money laundering prevention.

We have talked in our previous article about how France had introduced new regulatory measures for ICOs, in the form of ICO visa. What lawmakers from developed countries are beginning to realize is that those who manage to implement laws quickly will benefit by attracting more blockchain-based companies. France already shows that it wants to become an ICO hub and Britain could want to join the race.

British lawmakers worried on several aspects

As sfchronicle.com had recently written, the British report on digital assets highlights the fast emerging industry characterized by wild price fluctuations, fraud allegations, and concerns over terrorist or criminal financing.

The report also blames the government for taking an “ambiguous position” on regulation and also talked about self-regulation, a subject that had been discussed on your website not too long ago.

Nicky Morgan, committee Chairwoman said that:

This unregulated industry leaves investors facing numerous risks.

More power for British financial regulators is required to put order among exchange platforms and Initial Coin Offerings, also something mentioned in the above-mentioned reports.

Growing concerns across entire Europe

Marshall Billingslea, a US assistant Treasury secretary had told in a speech held in Paris that digital currencies had been used by the Islamic State, which had also published detailed instructions on Twitter on how Bitcoin can be moved to recipients from Syria. Billingslea also mentioned that “a global set of standards” must be put into place and “applied in a uniform manner”.

The struggle to implement a regulatory framework across the globe seems to be tougher than expected. As we have seen in a previous article, Canada had postponed implementing regulation for cryptocurrency and the process might be finalized around 2020, after an important round of elections.

There is some progress, however, and some countries had managed to make some good decisions. In Japan, Bitcoin is an official payment method, allowing people and customers to use crypto in their daily lives.

Still, each country has its own sovereignty, its own leadership and the process is not uniform, sadly. Judging by how things work now, we could experience a polarization of companies inside countries that will manage to create a proper environment to do business.