The British government has announced plans to regulate the cryptocurrency industry.
The government of the United Kingdom (U.K.) has launched a formal industry consultation and proposed a number of measures aimed at bringing regulation of cryptocurrencies in line with that of traditional asset classes.
Among the proposals are new rules that would enhance the targeting of financial intermediaries and custodians that store cryptocurrencies on behalf of clients.
The U.K. regulations would also crackdown on such activities as risky loans made between crypto firms and a lack of due diligence on those loans.
The move to regulate crypto in the U.K. comes after the bankruptcy of the FTX exchange last November.
The new regulations proposed in the U.K. would also enforce tougher transparency requirements on crypto exchanges to ensure that they publish relevant disclosure documents and set out clear admission requirements for trading digital coins and tokens.
The “Financial Services and Markets Bill,” which would recognize cryptocurrencies as regulated products, is still making its way through Britain’s Parliament, a process that could take several years to complete.
Bitcoin (BTC), which has risen about 40% since the start of this year, is currently trading around $23,000 U.S.
