Purpose

The UK authority published its first regulatory guidance on crypto-assets in July 2019. This paper aims to critically evaluate the effectiveness of the crypto-asset regulation in the UK and the consistency of the existing regulatory scheme.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper adopts comparative methods to carry out the analysis. The paper begins by elaborating the development of crypto-assets alongside the financial innovation in the world and pinpointing the core Acts and Regulations applied to crypto-assets in the UK. The paper also discusses a court case in the EU to highlight an argument among legal professions concerning crypto-assets classification.

Findings

Through carefully analysing relevant primary and secondary legislation of the UK and EU, this paper identifies some unclarified issues in the regulatory framework and discovers three flaws in the regulatory system. The paper concludes that the effectiveness of the current regulatory scheme is poor and room for improvement exists.

Originality/value

The paper provides the first review and a thorough analysis of the Laws and Acts applied to the crypto-asset regulation in the UK. It also calls on a simpler and clearer regulatory scheme from the perspectives of market participants and consumers. The discovered issues in the crypto-asset regulation in the UK may urge authorities to improve the existing regulatory frameworks and legal provisions.

中文翻译：

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英国的加密资产监管：对监管有效性和一致性的评估

目的

英国当局于 2019 年 7 月发布了其首个加密资产监管指南。 本文旨在批判性评估英国加密资产监管的有效性以及现有监管方案的一致性。

设计/方法/方法

本文采用比较的方法进行分析。该论文首先阐述了加密资产的发展以及世界金融创新，并指出了适用于英国加密资产的核心法案和法规。该论文还讨论了欧盟的一个法庭案件，以强调法律界关于加密资产分类的争论。

发现

本文通过仔细分析英国和欧盟的相关一级和二级立法，找出监管框架中一些未明确的问题，并发现监管体系中的三个缺陷。论文得出结论，现行监管方案的有效性较差，存在改进空间。

原创性/价值

该论文对适用于英国加密资产监管的法律和法案进行了首次审查和全面分析。它还呼吁从市场参与者和消费者的角度制定更简单、更清晰的监管方案。英国加密资产监管中发现的问题可能会促使当局改进现有的监管框架和法律规定。