A far-right political party in the U.K. has unveiled what it claims to be the country’s first “coherent” policy position on cryptocurrency.
The National Liberal Party published the policy on its website, noting that the U.K. government has so-far failed to take effective steps to regulate cryptocurrencies. In particular, they reference the high levels of cryptocurrency crime, with “crypto criminals” defrauding unsuspecting users “to the tune of billions” under the current legal position.
In a blog post published to their website, the controversial political party said consumers were currently underserved by the laws around crypto assets, including a lack of coverage under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
Consumers should be mindful of the absence of certain regulatory protections when considering purchasing unregulated cryptoassets. Unregulated cryptoassets (e.g. Bitcoin, Ether, XRP etc.) are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and consumers do not have recourse to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
The party slammed the current Conservative administration for failing to live up to its pledges on cryptocurrency regulation, while also criticizing opposition MPs for pitching too far in the other direction.
They stated, “The Labour Party […] believes Cryptocurrency is a Ponzi Scheme and would regulate it out of business according to Diane Abbot speaking as Shadow Home Secretary.”
Proposing similar sentences for crypto fraud as money laundering, the party’s policy proposes a fund for the victims of cryptocurrency crime.
“Victims of cryptocurrency crime and fraud should be compensated from a fund established by the cryptocurrencies and exchanges that do business in the U.K. If a voluntary fund cannot be established, a transactional tax should be imposed to fund the initiative,” the blog post read.
According to the party, its position aims to “make the U.K. a center of legitimate cryptocurrency finance and not the center for crypto crimes that it is today.”
Despite recognizing the need for greater regulation around cryptocurrency and digital assets in the U.K., the government has failed to implement any changes in policy.
It remains to be seen whether the move, from the fringe of U.K. political discourse, prompts more mainstream attention for a crypto sector desperately in need of regulation.
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