The UK will maintain a technology-neutral approach to regulation of cryptocurrencies and will not introduce, at least for the moment, a specific legal and regulatory framework for the DLT (distributed ledger technology).
A distributed ledger is a database of transactions distributed across a network of numerous computers, rather than stored at a central node. Typically, all members of the network can read the information and, depending on their permissions, can also add to it.
The most common type of DTL is called “blockchain”, referring to the fact that transactions are grouped into blocks and these are joined together in chronological order to form a chain.
This is what emerges from the report just published by the British Cryptoassets Task Force – comprising the Bank of England, the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) and the UK Treasury.
The Taskforce was established by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in March 2018 to investigate cryptocurrencies and the applications of distributed ledger technology (DLT) in financial services in the UK.
The report provides an overview of crypto-assets and their underlying technology, assesses the associated risks and potential benefits, and sets out a new path for the regulation of crypto-assets in the UK.
The report states that the most immediate priorities for the three authorities that make up the Task Force are: mitigating risks to consumers and market integrity and preventing the use of cryptoassets for illicit activities.
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