Is The UK Government Keeping An Eye On the Crypto Market?

On September 18, Finance Feeds published a report in which the UK government was featured answering some serious questions about its view of the crypto market and the blockchain industry in the United kingdom. One of the questions was posed by Lord Taylor from Warwick.

Lord Taylor wanted to know what the UK government thought about the current crypto price dip and whether it was really monitoring the situation. In better terms, he was curious about what impact the current situation might have on the country’s blockchain industry.

Cryptoassets Taskforce

Answering the queries, Lord Bates, who is the current Minister of State in the Department of International Development, mentioned the Cryptoassets Taskforce that was formed in March. The taskforce brings together officials and professionals from the Financial Conduit Authority (FCA), the Bank of England, and the HM Treasury.

Functionally, the Cryptoassets Taskforce evaluates the risks and identifies the advantages relating to cryptocurrencies and blockchain and their effect on the market. The taskforce then formulates the relevant policies and regulations to govern the crypto market. It is expected to publish a report this fall outlining its official advice about the crypto market.

Also quoted by Financial Feeds, the Economic Secretary of HM Treasury, John Glen, said that the Bank of England is yet to hold a deliberation with the Chancellor to determine whether or not the bank can launch a state-linked cryptocurrency. He said that the bank’s office is still figuring out the possible impact of such a cryptocurrency.

Legal Tender

However, Glen was quick to emphasize that the Bank of England has no plans, whatsoever, to field a crypto asset with the aim of having it replace the current fiat currency or legal tender. In fact, he noted that the UK government is yet to classify cryptocurrencies as economic assets.

In early summer, the FCA issued a guide to banks to help them solve their apparent risk issues associated with their clients’ crypto dealings. Apparently, and as reported by Financial Feeds, the UK government has instituted policies to regulate some crypto derivatives like CFDs (Contract For Differences) that are crypto-based.

However, it’s pretty clear that although the government hasn’t yet formulated an encompassing policy to fully regulate cryptocurrencies in the United Kingdom, it does have a sharp eye trained on the crypto market.