Cryptocurrency is as popular as ever, and it’s here to stay. Its popularity has grown so immensely that a new group has been formed in the UK Parliament dedicated to all things crypto. The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for the UK Crypto and Digital Assets sector as it’s called is made up of MPs and Lords from different parties.
The full list of the APPG members is:
- Lisa Cameron MP (SNP)
- Martin Docherty-Hughes MP (SNP)
- Harriett Baldwin MP (Conservative)
- Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-Affiliated)
- Alexander Stafford MP (Conservative)
- Lord McNicol of West Kilbride (Labour)
- Philip Davies (Conservative)
- MP Simon Fell MP (Conservative)
- Lord Cromwell (Crossbench)
- Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Conservative)
- Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP (Labour)
The APPGs will allow various industries to link directly with UK lay and policy makers, parliamentarians, and politicians. They will act as semi-official bodies for crypto, much like the APPGs which already exist for fintech and finance.
The group’s main objectives are to look into how the UK crypto sector is being run and investigate further into concerns around advertising, fraud, and financial crime. Due to the growth of crypto in recent years, the need for the regulation of anything crypto by the government will be addressed, in face of rapid developments and advances in the crypto industry, but also the dramatic increase in crypto by consumer demand. Part of the group’s plan will be to look into other international examples of how crypto is being handled in other countries and how they are regulating the crypto sector to use as examples for the UK model.
Recognizing the increase in interest in the UK Crypto sector from both regulators and consumers is something MP from the Scottish National Party, Lisa Cameron has pointed out as the Chair of the Crypto and Digital Assets APPG.
Cameron alluded that you are more likely to know someone who has crypto now and said, “We must ensure that we have an appropriate regulatory framework in the UK which supports innovation and guarantees that the UK remains an attractive destination for innovative firms to set up and grow.”
“It is equally vital that we have a clear regime to protect consumers, ensuring they understand the risks, and are protected from the risk of economic harm posed by fraud and scams. Looking at how we can best protect consumers must be a top priority for Government and regulators.”
Cameron also stated that protecting consumers of crypto assets is the main concern of the APPG. She said “there must be clear rules for the advertising of crypto assets in the UK, so customers are protected and to help UK crypto firms to stay within the rules. We also want to see clarity of regulation particularly in terms of money laundering protections,” Cameron added.
“We will be looking at the work of the FCA in registering UK crypto firms so that customers are clear about which firms are regulated and which aren’t, but which also gives UK firms business certainty,” she said.
This is a huge step into regulating a rapidly advancing world of digital assets, which in the past the law has struggled to keep up with.
