U.K. Seeks To Regulate Bitcoin, Crypto Similar To Current Financial Instruments: Report

The bill looks to place bitcoin and digital assets under existing financial instrument law enabling existing regulatory infrastructure to build a framework.

• The Financial Services and Markets bill passes the House of Commons, heads to the House of Lords.
• Draft bill seeks to establish digital assets, such as bitcoin, as regulated financial instruments.
• Lawmakers are consulting with stakeholders and industry leaders throughout the process.

Legislators in the U.K. voted to recognize bitcoin and digital assets as regulated financial instruments earlier today, per a report from CoinDesk.

The lower house of Parliament known as the House of Commons read the previously discussed Financial Services and Markets bill which seeks to establish a framework for the ongoing regulation of digital assets.

Additionally, the draft bill includes extensions for existing regulation which would apply current laws regarding payments-focused instruments to stablecoins.

"The substance here is to treat them [digital assets] like other forms of financial assets and not to prefer them, but also to bring them within the scope of regulation for the first time," said Andrew Griffith, the financial services and city minister.

Griffith went on to explain that clause 14, a new addition to the previously existing Financial Services and Markets Act, "clarifies that crypto assets could be brought within the scope of the existing provisions."

The minister continued to say that the Treasury will have ongoing consultations with existing stakeholders in the ecosystem, as well as industry experts to ensure the developing framework empowers the ecosystem, rather than hinders it.

Still yet, the bill has quite a ways to go before becoming established law. Next, the draft will head to the upper parliamentarian branch known as the House of Lords. Should the bill receive approval from upper parliament, the bill will land on the desk of King Charles III to receive approval.