CEX.IO backs UK Treasury Committee crypto regulations call

UK-based crypto exchange, CEX.IO, has given the thumbs up to recommendations made by the Treasury Committee regarding regulation.

“Ensuring regulatory compliance has always been one of our major priorities. Since our launch in 2013, we have been a self-regulated platform and have established internal rules and policies to follow. We strongly support the legal initiatives that stir the crypto industry in the proper direction and increase trust towards it,” says Oleksandr Lutskevych, CEO of CEX.IO.

Since 2015, the venture has maintained registered MSB (Money Services Business) status with the US FinCEN. And in 2018, it applied for the DLT (Gibraltar) and EMI licences. “We’re willing to embrace official crypto-assets regulation in the UK to provide even more security for our customers,” says Lutskevych.

Wild Wild West

The UK Treasury Committee has labelled Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies a “Wild West industry” and called for regulations in order to protect investors, the BBC reports.

The committee said there were no well-functioning cryptocurrencies and preferred to call them crypto-assets. It urged UK regulator Financial Conduct Authority to supervise them.

“Crypto-asset investors are currently afforded very little protection from the litany of risks. Namely, there are no formal mechanisms for consumer redress, nor compensation,” said the committee.

“As the government and regulators decide whether the current Wild West situation is allowed to continue, or whether they are going to introduce regulation, consumers remain unprotected.”

Nicky Morgan, who chairs the committee, said: “It’s unsustainable for the government and regulators to bumble along issuing feeble warnings to potential investors, yet refrain from acting. At a minimum, regulation should address consumer protection and anti-money-laundering.”

Self-regulation only ever a starting point

CryptoUK, which was set up in February as a self-regulatory body for the cryptocurrency industry, said it welcomed the Treasury Committee’s recommendations.

Iqbal Gandham, who chairs it, told the BBC: “Self-regulation by the industry was always intended to be a starting point – this must now be matched by government action. Regulatory oversight is essential to ensuring consumer safety, guarding against malpractice and providing much needed clarity to an industry that is fast maturing. It is therefore pleasing that the committee has endorsed our suggestion on how this can be delivered, by bringing responsibility within the FCA’s perimeter of oversight.”