UK financial regulator’s Bitcoin crackdown

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) banned the sale of derivatives and exchange-traded notes (ETNs). The UK financial regulator’s Bitcoin crackdown underscores its misguided approach to cryptocurrencies, which are the future of money says the CEO of deVere Group, one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory and fintech organizations.

The damning analysis from Nigel Green, chief executive and founder of deVere Group, comes as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) publishes its final rules banning the sale of derivatives and exchange-traded notes (ETNs) that reference certain types of crypto assets, such as Bitcoin, Ether, and Ripple (XRP) to retail consumers.

deVere Group Founder Nigel Green believes regulator to be misguided

Mr. Green noted: “This move by the FCA underscores the regulator’s rather misguided approach to cryptocurrencies. Whilst the FCA is not stopping people from buying Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies directly, it is banning the sale of products based on their prices”.

He continued: “The regulator does express some valid concerns in its new rules, which we welcome and support. However, rather than banning, the FCA should be regulating the booming and unstoppable sector. This market, thanks to its exponential growth, needs a robust and enforceable regulatory framework. It needs scrutiny.”

The deVere CEO added: “The staggering pace of the digitalisation of economies and every aspect of our lives highlights that there will be a growing demand for digital, global, borderless money. Already digital currency is almost universally regarded as the future of money – and we need a joined-up approach to tackling those who undermine it.

“In this regard, most major financial institutions globally already have or are preparing to establish crypto desks. It is why more and more retail and institutional investors are piling into the market. And it is why tech giants, like Facebook, amongst others, are getting involved.”

Mr. Green concluded: “The tide is not going back. Traditional, fiat, paper currencies are not the future. Therefore, regulation – not a ban – is necessary. This will provide further protection for the growing number of people using cryptocurrencies.

It will help stamp out criminal activity, the less potential risk there will be for the disruption of global financial stability, and the more opportunities there will be for economic growth and activity in those countries which introduce it. The FCA should be leading the way on the future of money.”

More about Irish Tech News and Business Showcase here.
FYI the ROI for you is => Irish Tech News now gets over 1.5 million monthly views, and up to 900k monthly unique visitors, from over 160 countries. We have over 860,000 relevant followers on Twitter on our various accounts & were recently described as Ireland’s leading online tech news site and Ireland’s answer to TechCrunch, so we can offer you a good audience!

Since introducing desktop notifications a short time ago, which notify readers directly in their browser of new articles being published, over 50,000 people have now signed up to receive them ensuring they are instantly kept up to date on all our latest content. Desktop notifications offer a unique method of serving content directly to verified readers and bypass the issue of content getting lost in people’s crowded news feeds.

Drop us a line if you want to be featured, guest post, suggest a possible interview or just let us know what you would like to see more of in our future articles. We’re always open to new and interesting suggestions for informative and different articles.

Contact us, by email, twitter or whatever social media works for you and hopefully, we can share your story too and reach our global audience. We are agile, responsive, quick and talented, we look forward to working with you!

If you would like to have your company featured in the Irish Tech News Business Showcase, get in contact with us at Simon@IrishTechNews.ie or on Twitter: @SimonCocking