HM Treasury Committee Calls on UK Government to Regulate Crypto Like Gambling

The Treasury committee has called on the UK government to abandon plans to regulate crypto as a financial service and instead treat it as gambling. The committee said in a report that proposals for the Financial Conduct Authority to regulate the crypto industry could create “a ‘halo’ effect” that gives the impression crypto is “safer than it is” and might tempt people to put money into a speculative market they should avoid.

"With no intrinsic value, huge price volatility and no discernible social good, consumer trading of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin more closely resembles gambling than a financial service, and should be regulated as such," said Harriett Baldwin, the committee's chair.