British MPs Want Government to Crackdown on the Crypto Industry

The cryptocurrency space is largely unregulated in many countries around the world. However, some cryptocurrency critics in the United Kingdom want the government to take on a tougher stance on the market.

Crypto Critics Want Tougher Regulation

Members of Parliament (MPs) and cryptocurrency critics in the United Kingdom are calling for tougher regulations on cryptos and nonfungible tokens (NFTs). This latest development comes as more football clubs and influencers promote cryptocurrency projects.

According to a recent report by iNews, MPs and campaigners are calling for the Government to do more in regulating the crypto space over the coming months. The MPs want the government to capture cryptocurrencies and NFTs in the upcoming comprehensive gambling review.

The report added that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), UK’s primary financial regulator, is keen to gain additional powers to investigate the sector.

Conservative MP Richard Holden stated that “It is the Wild West, this grey area between highly leveraged financial investments on the one hand and these products which could quite easily and sensibly be considered gambling. There needs to be a clear differentiation there in order to protect people.”

The UK’s Treasury Department is currently preparing its response to a consultation that ended in 2020 regarding how best to regulate the cryptocurrency market: “We are taking action to protect consumers in response to the development of certain cryptoassets. This includes consulting on proposals to ensure cryptoasset promotions are fair, clear, and not misleading and that crypto assets meet the same high standards expected of other payment methods.”

BoE Wants Global Crypto Regulatory Talks

The desire to regulate cryptocurrencies in the UK doesn’t come as a surprise, as financial entities in the country have been clamoring for the move for a while now. Last month, the Bank of England (BoE) said it plans to hasten talks between financial regulators globally in a bid to find ways of monitoring and regulating cryptocurrencies.

The UK regulators also clamped down on Binance last year after accusing the cryptocurrency exchange of operating without proper licenses.