UK Government Will Be Cracking Down on Cryptocurrency Crime, New Plan Reads

The UK government has just issued its Economic Crime Plan. One of the focuses will be stopping cryptocurrency-related crime, a focus for the next few years. 

The United Kingdom is stepping up its attack on economic crimes involving cryptocurrencies. The new Economic Crime Plan outlines steps that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) must take to better assess financial risk in this industry. Part of the proposal is to create a specific regime within the FCA which will address cryptocurrency-related concerns.

Altogether, the FCA would be expected to go “beyond international standards to create one of the most comprehensive global responses to the use of crypto assets in illicit activity.” The Economic Crime Plan outlines its creation between 2019 and 2022. It’s still unclear how quickly the plan will move.

The news comes at a time when the United Kingdom is planning on banning cryptocurrency derivatives due to risk. The ban is still being considered by the financial watchdog group and may affect many more cryptocurency-related products. The recent news indicates that the UK is stepping up its efforts to better control the emerging industry. Many investors and traders, however, fear that it could end up having the opposite of its intended effect and turn away investment.

There is evidence, however, that regulated cryptocurrencies are growing to be accepted by the FCA and other regulatory entities. For example, last month Globacap was approved to be the UK’s first regulated security token platform.

Do you think that the cryptocurrency crackdown on economic crimes in the UK could hurt the overall market sentiment in the country? Let us know your thoughts below. 

Image courtesy of Fintechnology News.