WASHINGTON — The world needs global rules on cryptocurrency, Britain’s top financial regulator said in a speech here.
Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of Britain's Financial Conduct Authority, emphasized the need for international cooperation on rules surrounding digital assets in comments at the Peterson Institute for International Economics on Thursday. As part of his U.S. tour, he pointed to cooperation between his agency and its American counterparts.
“I don’t think there’s any fundamental sort of divergence of view or approach” between the FCA and U.S. regulators, Rathi said in response to questions after his public comments.
His trip comes shortly after international regulators
Rathi has been among the more active regulators when it comes to cryptocurrency. Last year, the FCA said that Binance wasn’t allowed to
He said that the recent turmoil in crypto markets surrounding TerraLuna and Celsius has reinforced his hawkish attitude toward consumer protection.
“I think we’ve always been clear that these are very high-risk instruments, and we’ve always been clear that anyone who invests in them has to be ready to lose all of their money,” Rathi told reporters after his speech.
“I think what you have seen is obviously the speed at which this adjustment can take place,” he said.
The FCA, however, is limited in its ability to regulate crypto, underlying the need for international cooperation, Rathi said, especially for issues such as antimony laundering.
“Do you, as a firm, have a mindset of wanting to engage with regulators and law enforcement to want to cooperate on this, or do you simply see us as a regulatory tick-box that you have to do the bare minimum to get through?” he said. “We want to see firms that want to actively cooperate.”
