The UK Parliament’s Treasury Committee has called for unbacked cryptocurrencies to be regulated in the same way as gambling, saying speculation in these assets is “closer to gambling than a financial service.”
“Despite the regulatory regime, their price volatility and absence of intrinsic value mean that unbacked crypto assets will inevitably pose significant risks to consumers,” Treasury committee members said in a statement. reports Published 17 May
It added that in this sense crypto should be viewed as similar to gambling, saying:
,[…] Consumer speculation in unbacked crypto assets more closely resembles gambling than a financial service.
In line with the principle of “equal risk, equal regulatory consequence”, the report warned that consumers may believe crypto is actually safer if regulations are viewed as pro-crypto.
“We are concerned that regulating retail trading and investment activity in non-backed cryptoassets as a financial service will create a ‘halo’ effect that leads consumers to believe that this activity is safe, or not protected, when It is not,” the report said.
The Treasury Committee report came ahead of the publication of a report by British media outlet Sky News, which revealed that members of the committee described crypto as a “happening”.no intrinsic value and no useful social purpose,
UK global crypto hub ambition
The new stance of UK legislators is surprising given the UK government’s ambition to make the country an international hub for crypto.
Naturally, becoming a hub for crypto will require a pro-crypto regulatory environment, but gambling-like regulations are unlikely to be what the industry is hoping for in this regard.
Earlier this year, the UK Treasury said it was prepared to deliver an “ambitious Cryptoasset activities are planned to be tightly regulated“Traditional finance equivalent.
“Under plans set out by the government today (1 February), it will seek to regulate a wider suite of cryptoasset activities, in line with its approach to traditional finance,” the UK government said at the time.