As cryptocurrency becomes increasingly popular, the United Kingdom has been planning how to regulate the sector for a long time. Recently, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published its latest research about consumer behaviour towards crypto and revealed its regulation roadmap to make the use of cryptocurrency safer by 2026.
More Adults Are Owning Crypto
According to the FCA, 12.5% of all adults in the United Kingdom own crypto, an increase from the previous 10%. The research also shows that awareness of cryptocurrency has risen from 91% to 93%, while the average value of crypto owned by people has increased from £1,595 to £1,842 as new traders and regular people alike are interested in digital assets and using platforms like OANDA to trade the coins.
Respondents also told the FCA that those who have never bought crypto mostly got their information from friends and family who had already purchased it. Only one in ten people stated that they didn’t do any research before purchasing crypto.
The research also revealed that one in three people don’t know that cryptocurrency is not regulated; instead, they believe they could complain to the FCA if something goes wrong with their crypto investments or if they are seeking financial protection or recourse.
However, the FCA concluded that the main issue is that cryptocurrency is largely unregulated in the UK, which makes it a high-risk investment. If something goes wrong, the government won’t protect your investment since cryptocurrency has been a deregulated asset since its emergence.
Crypto investors can’t approach the Financial Ombudsman Service or Financial Services Compensation Scheme if their investment in Bitcoin or Ethereum goes wrong. Compliance with the tax office is also a requirement if you profit from this investment, so along with deregulation and compliance, the extra risk to crypto investments is that digital assets are volatile.
FCA Confirms Plans To Regulate Crypto
With millions of new investors in the UK cryptocurrency market, crypto scams have increased. According to the FCA, they have taken down over 900 websites and 50 apps based on scam cryptocurrency since October 2023. This is why they have now decided to adopt a regulatory framework for crypto to protect consumers from such scams.
The latest research on the use of cryptocurrency was released as the Financial Conduct Authority shared its plans to regulate cryptocurrency. The FCA crypto roadmap indicated key dates for the crypto regime, including financial promotions, stablecoin issuance and custody, rules for trading platforms, lending, staking, and intermediation, the conduct and firm standards for all Regulated Activities Orders, and money laundering regulations.
The director of payments and digital assets at the FCA, Matthew Long, revealed that the FCA had different meetings with over 100 organisations in the crypto industry. However, investment is still risky, because according to the FCA, “… crypto remains largely unregulated in the UK and high-risk. If something goes wrong, it is unlikely you will be protected, so you should be prepared to lose all your money.”
Among the 100 organisations were crypto exchanges, trading firms, law firms, universities, banks, blockchain analytics companies, and industry associations. The meetings also included government officials, the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the Treasury, and the Bank of England. The policies also seek to include plans to trace and recover funds and crypto assets so that consumers and their investments are protected to some degree.
The FCA stated the following in its press release on 26 November 2024: “We’d like to thank everyone who took the time to join us and share their thoughts and experiences. These discussions are just the beginning of the extensive engagement we’ll need with stakeholders across the board to get the rules right.”
Long also explained that after extensive research, they realized that the crypto landscape requires clear rules and regulations. This way, the UK government can create a crypto sector based on consumer trust and innovation.
The UK Crypto Regulation Timeline
In the fourth quarter of 2024, the FCA launched discussion papers on stablecoin regulations, how to tackle market abuse, and admission and disclosure processes. According to the FCA, the UK crypto regulations will likely go live by 2026.
Meanwhile, in 2025, the FCA plans to release papers on crypto trading platforms, lending, intermediation, the staking rewards offered by firms on crypto holdings, and prudential crypto exposure. Then, by 2026, it would eventually go live with the publication of the crypto policy statements.
The UK is not the only country that is focused on regulating the crypto sector. The Biden administration in the United States has also released a framework for the regulation of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets, while the US Securities and Exchange Commission focuses on protecting crypto investors and minimizing their risk.
The Future of Crypto Regulation
Cryptocurrency is known for being deregulated and offering anonymity, but with the emergence of new regulations in the UK, it seems like this will eventually change. The main aim of regulating cryptoassets is to protect consumers and tackle financial crime. By 2026, the new crypto system would have been put in place, further protecting users from scams and exploitation.
