The UK Treasury proposed to exclude unsecured crypto assets like Bitcoin and also their derivatives from its securities sandbox plan.
In a consultation document published on 11 July, the UK Treasury said the regulatory sandbox being introduced under the UK’s Financial Services and Markets Act would allow the UK government to access existing cryptocurrency legislation if necessary. said it would give time to revise the proposed framework was intended to allow companies to act on Congress' assessments of whether their products and services could fall under existing rules.
However, these considerations may not apply to “unsecured” crypto assets and derivatives, where regulations are still evolving, according to the consultation document. The Treasury said it would consider feedback on the proposed digital securities sandbox until talks end in August 2023. The framework suggests that assets like Bitcoin may not be covered by the Treasury initiative. UK lawmakers have previously advocated classifying crypto assets as “unsecured” and treating them as gambling.
Regarding unsecured tokens, the Treasury Department said it "will leverage existing regulatory initiatives to develop policies and regulations for this asset class until there is greater certainty in these frameworks."
Under the Financial Services and Markets Act, cryptocurrency companies operating in the UK must follow certain guidelines designed to encourage innovative technology while protecting consumers. The country’s Financial Conduct Authority warned companies that as of October 2023, the framework will only allow “four methods of legally communicating crypto promotions.”
