Crypto exchange Gemini calls on UK government to ramp up regulation
Crypto exchange Gemini has called on the government to introduce robust legislation which will allow the UK’s digital asset industry flourish.
This week marks a year on from the Khalifa review, a government inquiry into the UK’s fintech industry. Blair Halliday, Gemini’s chief executives, was among 70 bosses from the UK’s biggest fintech companies who marked the anniversary of the review with a letter to government calling for a UK regulatory regime on crypto.
“We need a broadly considered piece of legislation to give crypto the opportunity to expand further,” Halliday told City PM.
“What we’ve seen from the FCA and the Treasury is kind of bits and pieces of legislation that’s been focussed on consumer protection rather than an overarching bit of legislation that will encompass the overall crypto fraternity,” he continued.
The start of 2022 saw the UK’s financial watchdog publish draft regulation on marketing digital assets. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) plans to categorise qualifying cryptoassets as ‘Restricted Mass Market Investments’, meaning consumers would only be able to respond to crypto promotions if they are classed as high net worth or sophisticated investors.
While Halliday welcomed requirements for companies to flag to consumers that digital assets are not UK regulated he questioned the decision to designate crypto as a restricted mass market investment.
“Customers that want to get into crypto might be blocked from going to firms like ourselves through the restricted mass market approach the FCA has proposed,” Halliday said.
“These rules won’t stop people from getting into crypto, it’s just going to force them to go to a firm that doesn’t have the regulatory approvals that we have,” he added, warning that the proposed rules could have unintended consequences for investors.
Gemini, which was recently valued at $7bn following a bumper $400m funding round, was one of the first crypto firms in the UK to gain an e-money institution licence and be registered under the regulator’s anti-money laundering regime.
“As a firm we’ve always tried to do things the right way. Not all actors have that ethos,” Halliday said.
Read more: Crypto exchange Gemini calls on UK firms to get serious about regulation