UK financial watchdog says he needs powers over crypto promotions

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LONDON: Creating a regulatory regime for the decentralized world of cryptoassets will require careful thought, Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said on Monday.

The UK Finance Department has previously consulted publicly on whether certain crypto-asset promotions should be regulated.

“There are no real assets or cash flows underlying the price of speculative digital tokens, even the best known like Bitcoin, and many cannot even boast of a scarcity value,” FCA President Charles Randell said in a speech.

“We just don’t know when or how this story will end, but as with any new speculation, it might not end well.”

He said there appeared to be two instances where regulators should have the power to take action: to reduce the damage caused by crypto-asset promotions and to stop the contagion to licensed companies from unregulated activities in the markets. digital tokens.

The FCA has banned the global crypto exchange Binance from undertaking any regulated activity in Britain, saying it is not able to be properly supervised and has set several requirements for the company. Binance said it is fully compliant with FCA requirements.

“We are not going to grant FCA registration or authorization to companies that will not explain basic issues, such as who is responsible for key functions or how they are organized,” he said. . “It would be symbolic regulation in the worst sense.”

The Basel global committee of banking regulators is consulting on whether banks’ holdings of speculative digital tokens should be covered by full mandatory capital charges.

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