Gibraltar, one of the largest cryptocurrency hubs globally, has announced its plan to fight against manipulating the cryptocurrency market. The country has introduced a new set of rules that will ensure cryptocurrency prices are free from manipulation.
Gibraltar tackles crypto market manipulation
Gibraltar is an overseas territory in England. The rate of cryptocurrency adoption in the jurisdiction has grown significantly over the past year in line with the formulation of a friendly regulatory framework.
The new crypto regulations seek to foster the integrity of the cryptocurrency market and ensure prices are only influenced by market forces. The Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) released the regulatory guideline on April 27, 2022.
A special task force created the new regulatory guideline that comprises different government officials and experts in the cryptocurrency and blockchain sector. Governments and regulatory institutions have expressed increased concern over manipulating cryptocurrency prices.
In an interview with CNBC, the minister for digital and financial services in Gibraltar, Albert Isola, said, “We were the first jurisdiction in 2018 to launch the legal and regulatory framework, and we’re now the first jurisdiction to launch a framework for market integrity. The more there is around the world in terms of international standards for this space, the more trust, the more usage, and the more adoption we will have around the world.”
The new regulatory principle will require that the cryptocurrency firms operating in Gibraltar implement measures to prevent price manipulation. These measures should also prevent the manipulation of liquidity and information about the market. Businesses will also be required to prevent insider trading done by their employees.
Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile, but given that it is a new asset class, there have been concerns that prices could be manipulated. In the US, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said that it was reluctant to approve a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) because prices were vulnerable to manipulation.
Crypto regulations in Gibraltar
Crypto regulations in Europe have been different between countries. However, some jurisdictions have shown openness toward embracing the cryptocurrency sector. Gibraltar is ranked as one of the jurisdictions with a favourable regulatory framework.
Gibraltar’s favourable regulatory climate has attracted several cryptocurrency exchanges. In November last year, Huobi, which was once the largest cryptocurrency exchange in China, announced that its spot trading business would be relocated to the region.
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