Be careful what you wish for on crypto regulation

Shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted

clock • 3 min read

Laith Khalaf looks at the idea of regulating crypto investment under the same rules as gambling and warns policymakers might be on the wrong track...

The Treasury Committee of MPs has called for trading in crypto to be regulated under gambling laws rather than under financial services regulation. One of their key reasons is that regulating crypto trading as a financial service might create a ‘halo effect', actually legitimising the activity rather than slapping a warning sign on it. There is some merit in this argument, but the risks of regulating crypto as gambling look greater than bringing it into the financial services fold. Things in common? Crypto certainly shares some features with gambling, but I'm not sure it is right to...

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