Matt Hancock Praises Crypto, Says He is Considering Investing in Bitcoin

Mattew David Hancock, the former British Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has recently voiced his support for the cryptocurrency industry, adding that he is considering buying bitcoin.

In a recent interview with Express.co.uk, Hancock revealed that he is considering investing in bitcoin following his statement in parliament about the revolutionary power of cryptocurrencies.

In his statements, Hancock opined that he believes crypto has the power to completely revolutionize the financial systems as we know them just like social media revolutionized communications.

He said, "The underlying technology of the blockchain on which crypto is built has a wide range of uses, in terms of secure contracts and greater transparency. Clearly cryptocurrencies are an investment for some, and the underlying technology has lots of potential, for example in helping make payments, and in smart contracts that have transparency built-in."

Crypto Regulation Needed in the UK Urgently

Hancock pointed out that the UK can be the home of crypto. However, it would need to establish a clear regulatory framework for the crypto space.

He said, "There does need to be a regulatory approach, for example, to ensure adverts are not misleading, and to ensure the exchanges are sound and don’t rip people off… A regulatory regime should be liberal so that people can freely buy and sell crypto assets, but provide that underlying assurance that the markets are fair."

Hancock noted that to improve the country's cryptocurrency market and encourage mainstream adoption, regulators would have to clamp down on misleading crypto adverts. 

With an estimated 2.3 million UK residents owning crypto, analysts have discovered that a great majority of these crypto investors may not fully understand the risks associated with the assets they were buying.

According to Hancock, the regulations on crypto ads will have to meet the same standards as other financial promotions, such as insurance, to help protect people from misleading claims.

The UK government had recently made plans to tighten the rules on crypto advertising to protect the interest of consumers and mitigate the risks of losing funds to crypto-related scams.