Recommendations & Conclusions
8 items
2
Recommendation
Fifteenth Report - Regulating Crypto
Accepted
It has been more than four years since our predecessor Committee’s Report called for greater regulation of the cryptoasset industry, and the FCA faces challenges in implementing existing and proposed crypto regulations. It is important that the Government and regulators strive to keep pace with developments, including by ensuring that …
Government response. The government agrees on keeping pace with crypto developments, highlighting existing AML-CTF and financial promotion regulations. It commits that HM Treasury and the FCA will work to clarify authorisation gateway standards and the FCA is increasing capacity and adopting a …
HM Treasury
3
Conclusion
Fifteenth Report - Regulating Crypto
Accepted
While we support financial innovation where there are potential benefits, the extent of the benefits cryptoasset technologies may bring to financial services in the future—and the areas in which the technologies may have the most impact— remains unclear. In the meantime, the risks posed by cryptoassets to consumers and the …
Government response. The government strongly agrees with a balanced, technology-neutral approach, acknowledging the uncertain benefits and evolving nature of cryptoassets. It reiterates its focus on regulating cryptoasset activity and clarifies that FMI sandboxes will be implemented this year to promote responsible innovation.
HM Treasury
4
Recommendation
Fifteenth Report - Regulating Crypto
Accepted
We recommend that the Government takes a balanced approach to supporting the development of cryptoasset technologies. It should seek to avoid expending public resources on supporting cryptoasset activities without a clear, beneficial use case, as appears to have been the case with the Royal Mint NFT. It is not the …
Government response. The government strongly agrees with a balanced, technology-neutral approach, confirming its current regulation-focused strategy. It commits to implementing the first FMI Sandbox this year to support responsible innovation and states the Royal Mint is not proceeding with the NFT, with …
HM Treasury
4
Conclusion
First Report - The digital pound: still…
Accepted
Strong privacy safeguards would be vital were a digital pound to be introduced. Although the Bank of England and Government state that it is not their intention to be able to access users’ data, it is conceivable that they may in future be tempted to try to make use of …
Government response. The government has committed to guaranteeing users' privacy in primary legislation if a digital pound is launched, aligning with the report's emphasis on strong privacy safeguards and confirming neither the Government nor the Bank would access personal data.
HM Treasury
5
Recommendation
First Report - The digital pound: still…
Accepted
We recommend that any primary legislation used to introduce a digital pound does not allow the Government or Bank of England to use the data from a digital pound for any purposes beyond those already permitted for law enforcement.
Government response. The government has committed to guaranteeing users' privacy in primary legislation if a digital pound were launched, confirming neither the Government nor the Bank would have access to personal data beyond existing law enforcement permissions.
HM Treasury
8
Recommendation
First Report - The digital pound: still…
Accepted
It would be important to support financial inclusion to the greatest possible extent through a digital pound were it to be launched, including by exploring the option of offline payments to ensure accessibility by users with limited or unreliable internet connectivity.
Government response. The government has accepted the recommendation, establishing a working group to report on offline payments by year-end, and committing to conduct experiments exploring accessibility for digitally excluded users.
HM Treasury
10
Recommendation
First Report - The digital pound: still…
Accepted
This report has set out some of the benefits and risks from a digital pound. While there are some potential benefits, their extent is unclear and there are significant risks and challenges to be worked through, particularly in relation to privacy and financial stability. It is not clear to us …
Government response. The government accepts the recommendation, stating that the committee's message aligns with HM Treasury and the Bank's approach to the next design phase, which will deepen understanding and build an evidence base for a decision later this decade.
HM Treasury
12
Recommendation
First Report - The digital pound: still…
Accepted
Building the infrastructure needed for a digital pound would also likely be very expensive, and the eventual decision on whether to launch a digital pound will need to be subject to a rigorous cost-benefit analysis. The Bank of England and Treasury must approach this analysis from a neutral stance—the launch …
Government response. The government agrees that a balanced, transparent, and rigorous approach, from a neutral stance, is required for the cost-benefit analysis of a digital pound, which will cover economic, societal, and financial implications.
HM Treasury