Cryptocurrencies in the UK
When people talk about cryptocurrencies it is mostly in relation to the US. That is not necessarily a conscious thing, just a reflection of the size and cultural impact of the country.
What it means though is that there is less general awareness of the status of these currencies outside of the US. Each nation has its own rules and regulations when it comes to the controversial digital coins.
Take the UK for example. Under the existing laws there, cryptocurrencies are legal but are not legal tender. That means it is fine to buy and store them if you are based in that country, but most places will not accept them in exchange for products or services.
Crypto firms must also abide by strict regulations to avoid breaking the law. There are indications that main regulatory body the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is moderating its attitude to them though.
The Popularity of Crypto in the UK
Cryptocurrencies are not presently as popular in the UK as they are in the US. The coins that are in most widespread use are bitcoin and ethereum. Research has found that 11% of the population has made a crypto investment, with 66% of them being male. The vast majority of them – 70% to be precise — are between the ages of 18 and 44 and ethereum was the chosen coin of 33%. Meanwhile, 71% of people in the UK have indicated that cryptocurrencies are something that they are completely uninterested in. Despite that though, the market there is forecast to be worth billions within the next three years, so growth is happening.
The very strict new rules introduced by the FCA last year classified cryptocurrencies under the term ‘restricted mass market investments’ and that – plus fear of the unknown – is keeping the UK market comparatively cool.
What Are People Using Cryptocurrencies For?
When it comes to those in the UK that have embraced these currencies, one of the main areas where they are being used is in gaming. Casino gaming in particular, as it involves the exchange of real money.
There are specialist cryptocurrency casinos based there and you can review the top casino sites on casinos.com using criteria like payment methods to identify the best ones. Although those casinos lie outside of the mainstream online casino industry, cryptocurrencies offer very real advantages to both the sites and the customers.
Another area where we will almost certainly see cryptocurrencies being used within the UK soon is trading. The country is one of the few left where that is not already happening and observers have pointed out that this is standing in the way of the expressed desire within the financial sector for it to become a ‘crypto hub’.
The FCA now appears to have taken those complaints on board and is ready to loosen the tight restrictions it has placed on the digital currencies. A prominent newspaper based in the UK recently revealed that this authority intends to permit some securities connected to bitcoin to be traded over the stock market.
That change is due to come into effect in April of this year and it will mean that people can potentially list ethereum or bitcoin connected notes on the stock exchange. It would be a step forward in terms of legitimizing cryptocurrencies in the UK and could see their usage become more widespread.
The Benefits of Using Cryptocurrencies
There are certainly a number of significant benefits that the use of these currencies can have for people. The first of them is the speed at which crypto-based transactions are processed compared with those using standard currencies.
Whereas the latter can take hours and sometimes even days, crypto transactions complete processing in mere seconds. In this age of convenience, that would be highly attractive to a lot of people if they were aware of it.
Another benefit of investing in cryptocurrencies is as a hedge against inflation. That is something which is eating into the savings of many in the UK right now and a type of asset that is immune to its ravages would appeal to those struggling with rising costs. The decentralized nature of crypto further helps in this regard, because it means governments and central banks cannot set the value of the currencies.
Perhaps the biggest advantage of all though is security. Crypto transactions require no personal or financial data to be shared to complete them. They are also recorded on decentralized blockchain ledgers that cannot be tampered with, rendering them fraud-proof.
In the US they are expected to be more widely adopted by the online casino industry before too long, for just that reason. UK-based casinos may follow.
Cryptocurrencies are tightly regulated in the UK, but there are indicators that the rules are being loosened.