New UK Institute Could Spot Crypto, AI Regulation Gaps

A plan to develop a way to spot holes in United Kingdom’s regulations that failed to keep up with crypto and artificial intelligence (AI) innovations has been proposed by the technology advisor to the Lord Chief Justice, The Financial Times reported.

Richard Susskind, who also serves a director of LegalUK, the London-based think tank whose mission is to encourage the use of English law and U.K. dispute resolution globally, told the news outlet that an independent institute would spotlight sections of law that had failed to keep up with new technological innovations, including crypto assets and AI.

In addition, the new organization would promote English law to global companies as the way to govern innovations such as blockchain transactions.

“The business world will be changed by technology, and a challenge will be providing a platform for the supporting law for these new technologies,” Susskind said.

The proposal comes as attorneys express concern that England’s 365,000-person legal sector could lose clients to rival institutes in Dubai and Singapore if legislation fails to keep up with tech innovations.

Proponents said such a research center would fit with the U.K. government’s strategy to make the country a global leader in areas such as AI.

Susskind is not the only official considering ways to regulate new innovations.

In December, the Bank of England (BoE) said it plans to increase the pace of talks to establish regulations on the world’s newest assets. 

For more: Bank of England to Ramp Up Talks on Crypto Rules

Sarah Breeden, the central bank’s director for financial strategy and risk, told said that if banks wish to offer cryptocurrency trading and custody services, regulators must design rules to protect the world’s financial system.

The BoE recently said in its Financial Stability Board Report that while crypto holdings in the U.K. do not pose a threat to the financial network, its dramatic growth could become more dangerous as the currencies become increasingly linked to wider financial systems and the broader economy.