According to the news of “The Times”, one of the most important broadcasting organizations in the United Kingdom, members of parliament in the UK warned the country’s financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), that cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are not “investments”.
Lawmakers on the Treasury selection committee told FCA Chairman Nikhil Rathi that cryptocurrencies are not investments, and in this context, words such as “invest and invest” in crypto assets should not be used.
Harriett Baldwin, MP for the Conservative Party in the West Worcestershire constituency, said in a statement that the word “investment” often denotes “an investment in an FTSE 100 company or unit trust”.
“Your website actually makes a list of unregistered crypto-asset businesses for anti-money laundering purposes. This list is supposed to be helpful, but it could also be helpful to someone who just wants to get black money.”
While FCA chairman Nikhil Rathi disagrees with MP Harriet Baldwin on defining cryptocurrencies as an investment, he said in a meeting with lawmakers:
“Personally, I would suggest that we say that nothing crypto-related should be entitled to compensation so that consumers are clear about this when investing. We will have a discussion about what the required expression should be.”
Earlier this year, the FCA warned consumers to risk losing all their money if they invested in cryptocurrencies.
Reiterating his warning about investing in cryptocurrencies in September of this year, the head of the FCA stated that crypto consumers will not be able to benefit from the “Financial Services Compensation Plan”, which aims to cover consumer losses.
*Not investment advice.