The U.S. financial regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has been creating difficulties for U.S. companies in the cryptocurrency industry for some time. Many companies are considering leaving the U.S. due to uncertainty over cryptocurrency regulation and a hostile SEC.
Currently, the EU appears to be catching up to the US when it comes to Web3 developments, as the European Parliament has recently taken another big step towards a clear legislative framework for cryptocurrencies with the adoption of the Crypto Assets Market Regulation (MiCa) legislation.
Cryptocurrency regulation in the UK
As you can read in Crypto News last week, the UK’s financial watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), said it wanted to work with cryptocurrency companies to develop cryptocurrency regulations for the UK. The UK Treasury Secretary of State also recently announced that the UK hopes to introduce new rules within twelve months.
Polygon Labs, the company behind Polygon (MATIC), said on Monday it was “deeply encouraged” by the UK’s move to regulate the industry.
In February, HM Treasury — the UK government’s financial regulator — sought responses to a consultation and call for evidence on the future regulatory regime for crypto assets. Polygon Labs chief policy officer Rebecca Rettig tweeted that the UK consultations were “very good”.
Brian Quintenz, head of policy at a16z, the crypto-focused unit of venture capital giant Andreessen Horrowitz, also tweeted on Monday that they “enthusiastically embrace the UK’s proportional, agile and flexible system. According to az16, the US approach is not something that the UK should consider.
U.S. Cracks Down on Cryptocurrencies
Following the FTX debacle in November, U.S. regulators, notably the SEC, have been aggressively going after big names in the cryptocurrency space. The SEC has gone after major cryptocurrency exchanges including Kraken, Bittrex and Coinbase for allegedly selling unregistered securities.
Not everyone is happy with the SEC crackdown: Republican politicians in particular believe the regulator is pushing emerging technologies overseas. If so, the UK appears poised to welcome cryptocurrency companies.
Source of information: Compiled from CRYPTO-INSIDERS by 0x Information.Copyright belongs to the author Ivo Melchers, without permission, may not be reproduced