Seven of the biggest crypto companies have joined forces this week to form the first UK trade body for the industry, as reported by The Telegraph. Pre-empting the ever-looming threat of the financial authorities,  they have produced a code-of-conduct, which they hope will form the basis of any future regulation.

Industry-wide Self-Regulation

CryptoUK will represent the interests of the entire cryptocurrency sector, and its founder members reflect this diversity.

Initially, the body covers exchanges, trading platforms and comparison sites for buyers and sellers of tokens. Also represented are intermediaries and merchants, those who facilitate and accept payments and transactions. And finally, asset managers and providers of crypto-based hedge and investment funds.

It seems one of the few things not currently covered are ICOs, but the working group is also currently considering these as well. One of the founding members, BlockEx, already offer a complaint ICO product, so I can’t see this addition being that far off.

And of course, CryptoUK is also open to new members who sign up to the code of conduct.

Code of Conduct

The code of conduct is a twelve point working document which all members must subscribe to. It is based on three key principles:

1. UK leadership: Members recognize the UK’s potential to become a global leader in the FinTech industry. And that this requires the promotion of a supportive environment.
2. Promoting appropriate regulation: Members support the introduction of appropriate industry regulation in the UK. This should serve consumer safety, promotion of best practice, and provide certainty and clarity.
3. Self-regulation: Members must take appropriate measures to know their customers, act fairly, maintain standards and prevent crime. They must also work together to further improve the standards within the code of conduct.

All Fairly Positive and Proactive

It certainly can’t hurt for the UK crypto-industry to throw its own set of regulations into the ring before having the government’s rules thrust open it. We must hope that this organization attracts a large membership and shows that the industry can self-regulate.

This should encourage the authorities to apply a lighter regulatory brush, enabling this trade body to set the agenda. Bravo for them.

The seven founder companies are BlockEx, CEX.IO, Coinbase, CoinShares, CommerceBlock, CryptoCompare, and eToro.

Is self-regulation the key to crypto legitimacy and a lighter regulatory approach by the government? Do you see similar organizations forming in other countries? Let us know in the comments below.

Images courtesy of AdobeStock