Crypto is intended to be hard to regulate, but at least the Treasury wants to have a go

theguardian.com:

F or my sins, I have been reading Future financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets, 82 pages of prime Whitehall verbiage that was published recently, setting out HM Treasury’s plans to govern the clouds and hold back the tides.

It opens with the statutory ringing endorsement by Andrew Griffith, economic secretary to the Treasury. He reminds readers that the government’s “firm ambition is for the UK to be home to the most open, well-regulated and technologically advanced capital markets in the world” – which “means taking proactive steps to harness the opportunities of new financial technologies”. He further believes that “crypto technologies” can have a profound impact across financial services and that “by capitalising on the potential benefits offered by crypto we can strengthen our position as a world leader in fintech, unlock growth and boost innovation”. Cont’d p94, as they say in Private Eye.

Billed as a “consultation and call for evidence”, the document invites our views on these important matters. As a public-spirited columnist, it would be churlish to refuse the invitation. So here goes.

First, though, a general observation about the tone of the document, which sometimes reads as though it had been written by crypto enthusiasts trying to sound grown up. Thus the talk everywhere is of “benefits” (actual or potential) and of “opportunities” flowing from crypto technology. Nowhere, though, are these supposed upsides explicitly itemised. And while there are many references to “risks”, they are always seen in the context of downsides than can – and will – be “managed”.

Since it seems improbable that the massed bands of philosophy, politics and economics alumni in the Treasury would be so crass as to engage