UK May Begin to Fully Regulate Crypto Within 12 Months, Here's What's Happening

According to a recent CNBC story, the U.K. may see a full stack of laws for cryptocurrency regulation be implemented within the coming 12 months. That information came from the economic secretary of the U.K. Treasury, Andrew Griffith, on Monday.

U.K. wants to attract crypto companies to its future hub

The country wants to gain the status of the world's crypto asset hub, therefore, plans were introduced in February regarding how to put cryptocurrencies under regulation. The period for government consultation will continue until the end of April.

According to Griffith, the U.K. can now control its own legislation, which became possible only after the country left the European Union. Therefore, now, the government now can make such important decisions as crypto regulation on its own without having to consult a bunch of other countries. Griffith, in particular, stated he is keen that the U.K. makes the most of this chance. However, the U.K. should move "in an agile and proportionate way" about this, he added.

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U.K.'s legal approach to crypto vs. that of U.S.

Unlike the recent actions of U.S. regulators, the U.K. wants to attract companies running businesses in the cryptocurrency sphere and get them to come over and settle on the other side of the pond. The U.S. SEC and CFTC have been pressing charges against U.S. crypto companies and crypto exchanges – Binance and Bittrex are the most recent examples. Besides, the case of the SEC against Ripple Labs has been going on since December 2020.

Crypto companies, including Ripple, have been calling on U.S. regulators to provide them with a clear set of rules by which crypto assets will be regulated. So far, the SEC is using the current securities laws for this, claiming many altcoins to be unregistered securities and suing exchanges for offering investment in them.

According to Griffith, the U.K. intends to take a different approach to crypto regulation, which would consist of laws that exist now with the addition of some new ones.

Currently, the lawmaker stated, there is the Financial Services and Markets Bill, being eyed by the Parliament. He called that an example of how new legislation is already partly oriented toward the nascent cryptocurrency and blockchain industry.