On 15 December 2017, the FCA published a Feedback Statement summarising the responses to its Discussion Paper on Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and setting out its views on recent developments. The Feedback Statement is divided into six sections, each relating to a specific risk or application of DLT. There is a particular focus on the potential risks of ICOs and cryptocurrency-related products such as CFDs. The FCA intends to gather further evidence on ICOs, and will engage with market participants and collaborate with national and international bodies to foster discussions and harmonise the global approach to DLT.
The FCA took the view that the rules and guidelines currently in place are sufficiently flexible to accommodate the expected uses of DLT and proposed no changes at this stage to the FCA Handbook or legislation.
and then 