The United Kingdom (UK) set to implement a new set of regulations linked to virtual digital assets in a bid to keep a check on illicit activities. The amendments outlined in an authority’s document released on February 29 depict that soon the UK’s law enforcement agencies will gain the power to freeze crypto without requiring a conviction. This comes in when Bitcoin (BTC) recently broke through the $64,000 price level.
UK govt gives new powers to watchdogs
According to the documents released, the UK government will empower watchdogs with new powers to gain control of digital assets suspected of being involved in crimes. This would begin on April 26, 2024. It is mentioned that these actions are part of amendments to the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.
The amendments allow the National Crime Agency (NCA) to seize crypto assets which are suspected of illicit activities. However, the powers would include retrieving assets from exchanges and custodian wallet providers directly. As these powers come into action, the watchdogs will have the option to even destroy seized assets. It is stated that it might be transferred to a “burn wallet”.
Reports suggest that these major legal changes aim to increase the National Crime Agency’s ability to fight against cybercrimes, scams, and drug trafficking linked to crypto. Meanwhile, this also shows that the old legal procedures may be not enough for this evolving industry. It becomes a crucial legal act when there are overseas cases.
It is important to note that this move comes before the UK government is seeking to introduce stablecoins linked rules. The authority plans include bringing in new laws within the next months around dollar pegged stablecoins and crypto staking.
Can it break Bitcoin’s momentum?
The UK’s government made this crucial move when the crypto market seemed to be in the middle of a long awaited bull run. Bitcoin is on a rally of adding consecutive days of gains. BTC price is up by around 25% in the last 7 days. This surge is driven by increased demand for Bitcoin exchange traded funds (ETFs).
These ETFs gained approval on January 11 and recorded a net inflow of $7.35 billion. Bitcoin is trading at an average price of $64,134, at the press time. Its 24 hour trading volume is up by 62% to stand at $35.3 billion. Traders are anticipating BTC to break the previous all time high (ATH) of $69K soon.
