Skip to main content

Dominance of Big Banks in UK Means London Might Miss the Boat on Bitcoin

Dominance of Big Banks in UK Means London Might Miss the Boat on Bitcoin

London has enjoyed a status of a global financial hub for centuries and served as a pioneer for brand new trading options for decades. However, some fear it is now in danger of getting left behind by the hottest emerging asset class – cryptocurrency. One of the main reasons for this appears to be the dominance of the big banks over the UK economy.

Also Read: Niall Ferguson Tells Bank of England Bitcoin Is Financial System of the Future

Banks Hindering Progress

Dominance of Big Banks in UK Means London Might Miss the Boat on BitcoinDespite having a thriving fintech startups scene, an established trading ecosystem and a leading role in the traditional fiat currencies market, London appears to be missing the boat with regards to the rush of institutional money flowing into crypto finance. Locations such as Tokyo, Chicago, New York and even San Francisco are taking the lead with regards to regulated platforms, OTC and hedge funds, as well as exchange-traded derivatives such as futures. And many people in the industry believe this is mainly due to the outsize influence that the banks have in the City.

“Banks have been unusually strict in dealings with crypto,” Max Boonen, a former Goldman Sachs trader and current CEO of B2C2, a London cryptocurrency market maker, told FT. “It’s nearly impossible to open an account for crypto in the UK. The problem is that in the UK there is a perception that banks have issues with anti-money laundering and decided to be a lot more conservative.” And David Mercer, CEO of LMAX, an FCA regulated FX trading venue which recently announced a physical cryptocurrency exchange dedicated to serving just institutional clients, expects UK banks would only join the market next year. “London is very bank-driven and we see it as being a late adopter,” he explained.

Not Too Late?

Dominance of Big Banks in UK Means London Might Miss the Boat on BitcoinThere are also factors that support London’s position in the crypto market, such as CFD brokers like IG Group and Plus500 achieving success with retail traders as well as Barclays agreeing to open an account for Coinbase. Additionally, there are those that think that the matter is overstated.

“The City of London, taken as a whole, has the collective experience to make considered and forward-thinking decisions. This experience manifests itself in many ways, from the efficiency of trade execution to KYC & AML regulations and from the strength of our legal system to our culture of effective corporate governance. These reasons are why London dominates the international foreign exchange markets, and it is unthinkable that the City will not continue to be a dominant player in crypto markets,” commented to news.Bitcoin.com Nauman Anees, Co-founder of Think Coin, a multi-asset financial & cryptocurrency trading exchange.

Anees added: “London is the dominant player in global financial markets thanks to the strength of its regulatory infrastructure and position as a gateway & conduit between every key global market – and while the crypto markets are novel in many ways, these key contextual advantages still apply. Moreover, events in recent years show the crypto space is one where ‘first mover advantage’ does not apply. Repeated hacks of key exchanges along with the slow pace of international regulation has meant that many ‘early adopters’ have not been positioned to fully develop and grow with the market, meaning that a more cautious approach will likely prove to pay the biggest dividends later. That said, the idea that there is a corporate resistance to crypto adoption in London is misguided. Most of the major investment banks have opened crypto desks, and the ones which haven’t already announced are undoubtedly experimenting behind the scenes.”

How should London ensure that the crypto revolution does not pass it by? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. 

Images courtesy of Shutterstock.

Now live, Satoshi Pulse. A comprehensive, realtime listing of the cryptocurrency market. View prices, charts, transaction volumes, and more for the top 500 cryptocurrencies trading today.

The post Dominance of Big Banks in UK Means London Might Miss the Boat on Bitcoin appeared first on Bitcoin News.



from Bitcoin News https://ift.tt/2stMedt
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Deep Web Roundup: Dream Adds Monero and Bitcoin Tumbler “Chip Mixer” Launches

The darknet has been quiet of late, which is the way it’s meant to be. No news means no mega busts, honeypots, or mass market shutdowns. Even when it’s out of the spotlight though, the deep web is quietly making news, whether trialling the latest privacy coins or the newest coin mixers that promise to restore a little of the privacy that’s being stripped away from bitcoin users on a daily basis. Also read: U.S. Agency ICE Conducts Investigations That Exploit Blockchain Activity The Battle for Privacy Heats Up Privacy is all relative, but of late there’s been relatively little privacy to be enjoyed by bitcoin users. Blockchain monitoring software is becoming more sophisticated and more common, with U.S. law enforcement agencies using it to profile and hunt down deep web users. Chip Mixer is a relatively new bitcoin tumbler that’s designed to restore some of that privacy. Available on both the clearnet and darknet, the service uses a variety of techniques to obfuscate blockchain m...
10 comments
Read more

International Crypto Exchange Luno Adds Bitcoin Cash Trading

Luno exchange has added bitcoin cash trading to the platform following feedback from its client base. BCH is now only the third cryptocurrency available for trading on the exchange, in addition to BTC and ETH , but more options could be on the way once Luno determines that they are credible enough. Also Read: Bitflyer Adds Bitcoin Cash Trading Across Europe and the US Luno Adds Bitcoin Cash Trading Luno, the London-headquartered company formerly known as Bitx, recently announced that bitcoin cash was made available on its cryptocurrency exchange. Starting from Monday, September 23, customers at Luno are now able to store, buy and sell BCH on the platform. The reason given for adding BCH to the exchange is feedback from users in developing markets that convinced Luno to expand their offering from previously just BTC and ETH . Marcus Swanepoel, CEO of Luno, said , “We are in a new and exciting financial era. Developing economies are leading the large-scale adoption and appli...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ombudsman Receives Complaints About Crypto Investments in Spain

The Spanish ombudsman has been receiving complaints about cryptocurrency and how some Spanish citizens investing in these vehicles have lost everything. In his annual report, Angel Gabilondo recognized the rise of cryptocurrencies as a new problem due to the little or no regulation crypto sees in the country. In the same way, the EU has also warned about these assets recently. Spanish Ombudsman Gives His Take on Crypto Angel Gabilondo, the Spanish ombudsman, has given his take regarding cryptocurrencies and the effects they have on citizens investing in some of these projects. Gabilondo said in his yearly report that cryptocurrencies have become “a new problem” during the year examined, with many people having lost all of their funds invested. The report states : Cryptocurrency exchange companies or platforms are not regulated in the legal system, are not subject to any public supervision system, nor do they benefit from deposit guarantee systems. The affected users that sought...
Post a Comment
Read more