BoE Exec: Regulate Crypto Before It’s Too Late

Anyone seeking evidence that the cryptocurrency world needs regulation should look to the fall of the FTX exchange, Bank of England Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe said Monday (Nov. 21).

FTX filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this month and said this weekend it owes its 50 largest creditors close to $3.1 billion. Its collapse has led to a number of calls for greater oversight of the crypto industry.

“While the crypto world, as was demonstrated during last year’s crypto winter and last week’s FTX implosion is not at present large enough or interconnected enough with mainstream finance to threaten the stability of the financial system, its links with mainstream finance have been developing rapidly,” Cunliffe said, per a Reuters report.

Speaking during an event at the U.K.’s Warwick Business School, Cunliffe added that the troubles at FTX underlined the need for stricter controls as fast as possible. While the company was not licensed to operate in the U.K., its collapse was nonetheless felt in the country.

“We should not wait until it is large and connected to develop the regulatory frameworks necessary to prevent a crypto shock that could have a much greater destabilizing impact,” Cunliffe said.

His comments came one day after Shelia Bair, the former head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), said regulators need to use existing laws to protect crypto investors rather than wait for the government to create new ones.

“The regulators need to swallow hard and get an agreement and then start implementing, using the authorities they have now,” Bair told the Financial Times. “Set a framework, publicly announce it, implement it through rule changes and policy announcements. But get on with it, because more and more people are getting hurt.”

Calls for crypto regulation have become more pronounced in the two weeks since FTX’s collapse began. The company filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11, leading to a digital asset market crisis. In a court filing last week, the company’s new CEO said FTX showed “a complete failure of corporate controls” helped along by “faulty regulatory oversight abroad.”

It’s not just government officials who want to see something done. Soon after the FTX collapse began, a group of executives at three high-profile crypto firms said the U.S. government needs a clearer regulatory framework for their industry.

Their comments were in keeping with a PYMNTS survey that found that 52% of traditional financial firms who are considering blockchain and crypto adoptions say that unclear regulation was their main concern.

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