UK Lawmakers Call for Crypto Trading to Be Regulated as Gambling

A committee of British lawmakers has recommended regulating crypto trading arsenic gambling. Viewing retail trading of cryptocurrencies arsenic much akin to gambling alternatively than a fiscal service, the U.K. Treasury Committee stated that “Cryptocurrencies specified arsenic bitcoin person nary intrinsic worth and service nary utile societal purpose, portion consuming ample amounts of vigor and being utilized by criminals successful scams, fraud, and wealth laundering.”

UK Lawmakers Propose Regulating Crypto Like Gambling

The U.K. Parliament announced Wednesday that the Treasury Committee has called for “consumer trading successful unbacked crypto to beryllium regulated arsenic gambling.” The Treasury Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to analyse the expenditure, administration, and argumentation of HM Treasury, HM Revenue and Customs, and associated nationalist bodies. Eleven members of parliament (MPs) presently service arsenic members of the Committee.

Citing a study titled “Regulating Crypto” which the Treasury Committee published connected Wednesday, the Parliament explained: “The cross-party Committee of MPs highlights that cryptocurrencies specified arsenic bitcoin person nary intrinsic worth and service nary utile societal purpose, portion consuming ample amounts of vigor and being utilized by criminals successful scams, fraud and wealth laundering.” The announcement further details:

The Committee concludes that cryptocurrencies airs important risks to consumers, fixed their terms volatility and the hazard of losses. Given retail trading successful unbacked crypto much intimately resembles gambling than a fiscal service, the MPs telephone connected the authorities to modulate it arsenic such.

The seat of the Treasury Committee, Parliament Member Harriett Baldwin, commented: “The events of 2022 person highlighted the risks posed to consumers by the cryptoasset industry, ample parts of which stay a chaotic west. Effective regularisation is intelligibly needed … By betting connected these unbacked ‘tokens’, consumers should beryllium alert that each their wealth could beryllium lost.”

In addition, the U.K. Parliament noted:

The Committee is besides acrophobic that regulating user crypto trading arsenic a fiscal work – arsenic projected by the authorities – volition make a ‘halo’ effect, starring consumers to judge this enactment is harmless and protected, erstwhile it is not.

The U.K. is presently moving connected authorities to modulate the crypto assemblage arsenic it strives to go a “global hub” for crypto assets. In February, the British authorities published a projected regulatory model for crypto. Andrew Griffith, Economic Secretary to the U.K. Treasury, told CNBC successful April that circumstantial crypto regularisation could travel into unit wrong a twelvemonth oregon so.

What bash you deliberation astir the Treasury Committee’s connection to modulate crypto trading arsenic gambling? Let america cognize successful the comments conception below.