On Thursday, a committee of the House of Commons enacted new legislation without resistance or additional discussion that prohibits crypto advertisements and makes it illegal for unregistered operators to offer services.
Restrictions Now Formally Enacted
The restrictions, which are now formally incorporated into the government’s Financial Services and Markets Bill, are in addition to those that the Bill Committee agreed upon last week, despite industry worries that the measure may make it more difficult to get advertisements approved.
The government has continued with its regulatory plan despite political unrest that saw first Boris Johnson and then Liz Truss resign as leader. In April, Rishi Sunak, then the finance minister and now the prime minister, declared his desire to turn the nation into a hub for cryptocurrency.
In a statement to legislators on October 25, minister Andrew Griffith cited activities linked to the trading and investment of crypto assets such as bitcoin and ethereum as examples of the measures that granted him authority to regulate a larger set of crypto activities beyond stablecoins.
A British Stablecoin Was the Main Topic
Stablecoins, a form of payment linked to assets like the British pound, were the main topic of the first draft of the law. A vote on the lengthier portion of the proposed government reforms was delayed until this week due to legislative procedure.
The newly approved clause could potentially expand the existing regulations that forbid the promotion or provision of financial services by unlicensed agents. This power could now extend to any cryptographically secured representations of value and rights using techniques like distributed ledger technology in the mould of bitcoin.
Griffith has pledged to hold a consultation on the best way to exercise that authority before Christmas. Meanwhile, the Financial Conduct Authority, a regulatory body, has already made a provisional plan for how it intends to limit cryptocurrency advertisements.
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