According to the big British economic institutions, the UK won’t be racing to set the global standards on crypto regulation, says the Parliament’s leading crypto MP.
Dr. Lisa Cameron MP has been a Member of Parliament for the Scottish National Party since 2015. She is currently Head of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Crypto and Digital Assets.
Speaking exclusively to BeInCrypto, she says the industry first became an area of interest after a constituent lost some money in a scam around 18 months ago. Her constituent asked her to look up who was doing the work on cryptocurrency in the Parliament, and it turned out there was nobody. “I got my researcher to look into the sector and discovered that millions of our constituents were involved.”
Dr. Cameron contacted the industry body, Crypto UK, to set up an APPG on cryptocurrencies and digital assets. Hoping to provide a framework for parliamentary scrutiny and policy development.
APPGs help MPs and Peers from different parties work together to discuss issues, suggest policies, and start debates in Parliament. Any MP or Peer can create one and do things like meet, ask questions, write reports, and invite experts to give evidence. They’re not an official part of Parliament but can still affect government decisions and how Parliament works.
“It came very much from a position of consumer protection and redress, and that’s still very much at the heart of what we do.”
The UK Won’t Be First In Regulation
As a global financial hub, there is often pressure on the UK to be an international standards setter for the rest of the world. London is still considered the Antras numeris financial center. But there is a feeling that the UK is falling behind on digital assets regulation.
“I was doing a bit of work on the EU and Žėrutis and how far ahead they were becoming. I didn’t want the UK to fall behind.” However, when she spoke to the Bank of England, the Government, and the Treasury, they had other ideas about how fast the UK should go. “There are advantages to being second or third in terms of looking at what works, capitalizing on that, and fixing anything that might not be working.”
Has Brexit had a negative effect on the UK’s crypto economy? She pauses for a moment before saying: “look, I didn’t vote for Brexit, but we are where we are. I just deal with the practicalities.”
“It does give the opportunity for the UK to create a bespoke regulatory system. Which is a bit more work for us, but we could capitalize on some of those opportunities and hopefully harness the prime minister’s vision of the UK becoming a crypto hub.”
Is UK Crypto A “Wild West”?
Not everyone in the UK is as open to the crypto industry as Dr. Cameron. Last month, the chair of the Treasury Select Committee referred to UK crypto as the "Laukiniai vakarai". The comments came after 85% of all crypto firms that applied for registration with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) failed to meet minimum standards for money laundering and counter-terrorism.
The incoming chair of the FCA, Ashley Alder, recently told the Treasury Select Committee that crypto platforms were “deliberately evasive.” Also, how large organizations within the industry are complicit in money laundering on a large scale.
Reflecting on the recent comments, Cameron says there’s an element of mixed messaging.
“On the one hand, you have statements like that. And then, on the other hand, you’ve got the Prime Minister saying that he wants the UK to become a hub of cryptocurrency. So what I have to do in my job, as chair of the group, is try to square that circle.”
Source: https://beincrypto.com/uk-crypto-regulation-lisa-cameron-mp/