FCA to discuss regulatory frameworks for cryptocurrency in the UK

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) looks set to outline regulatory frameworks for digital assets and cryptocurrencies, according to an announcement on Wednesday.

The regulator will be consulting on guidance for digital assets in order to “provide regulatory clarity for market participants in this space.”

Consultation begins on January 23rd, with the closing date set for April 5th. A policy statement on digital assets will be outlined later this summer.

Christopher Woolard, executive director of strategy and competition at the FCA, said: “This is a small but growing market and we want both industry and consumers to be clear what is regulated and what isn’t. This is vital if consumers are to know what protections they’ll benefit from and in ensuring we have a market functioning as it should.”

The FCA are looking for comments on the “CP19/3 guidance on Cryptoassets.” Key points from the document are “harm to consumers” and “harm to market integrity” due to “market volatility and a lack of transparency.”

The United States regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has paved the way in terms of regulation on digital assets over the past 12 months, clamping down on a number of ICOs as well as exchange CEOs who have been accused of soliciting the sale of unregistered securities.

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