UK Lawmakers Demand Regulation In the Cryptocurrency Field. The United Kingdom Treasury Committee has released a report stating that the cryptocurrency market in the country is far too dangerous and uncontrolled. The report states that the government needs to review issues relating to security in the field and how price swings have become too problematic.
The paper from the Treasury Committee particularly refers to the cryptocurrency industry as the “Wild West” and that it is impossible to legitimately trade currencies at this point without dramatic risks. Part of the report comes as the currency industry is changing with a massive amount of value changes coming about with various currencies, particularly some experiencing changes in thousands of dollars.
Support From Exchanges
The report was supported by some cryptocurrency exchanges. These include groups that contributed to the research process. Coinbase in particular offered support for the review with CryptoUK handling some of the support. Coinbase’s UK department stated to CNBC that new reforms have to be passed in the currency field or else the industry could be at risk of significant harm. Part of this includes a desire to make the UK the main cryptocurrency hub throughout the world based on where transactions may move through.
Security Issues
The report states that there are worries about the security of many currencies. Part of this comes as the currencies are supported through an extensive series of codes. There is a potential for errors and other problems to develop in some of these codes, thus resulting in the potential for some threats to how a currency is to be used and what may work in certain situations.
Price Volatility Is a Concern
The Treasury Committee report argues that the price volatility in the field is a significant problem. Much of this comes as the values of currencies have changed dramatically by thousands of dollars in some cases. The bitcoin is the most extreme instance of this; the currency was valued at nearly $20,000 at the early part of the year, but that total has fallen to around $6,500.
But the report particularly states that the volatility can occur within a very brief moment in time. The bitcoin was at $17,500 in November of last year, but that total fell to $7,000 in February of this year.
No Real Plan As Of Now
There is also the concern that the British government does not have much of a plan at this moment over getting the cryptocurrency market under control. There are worries about how the government has allowed many entities to come into the market and to do business without much oversight, thus creating the “wild west” comparison that the paper introduced.
The greatest issue for many, according to the paper, is that the industry is becoming increasingly open to criminals and others who want to use currencies for funding hostile or harmful activities. Also, the report states that the government is not doing much to help warn people, with committee head Nicky Morgan MP stating that the government is providing people with “feeble warnings” about the industry as it moves along.
