Consumer cryptocurrency trading should be regulated as gambling, Treasury Committee says

Trading in unbacked crypto more closely resembles gambling than a financial service and the government should regulate it as such says the Treasury Committee in a recent report.

The cross-party committee of MPs highlights that cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin have no intrinsic value and serve no useful social purpose while consuming large amounts of energy and being used by criminals in scams fraud and money laundering.

The committee is also concerned that regulating consumer crypto trading as a financial service – as proposed by the government – will create a ‘halo’ effect leading consumers to believe this activity is safe and protected when it is not.

The MPs recognise that technologies underlying cryptoassets may bring benefits to financial services particularly for cross-border transactions and payments in less developed countries and call on the government and regulators to keep pace with developments so...