The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is soliciting opinions on intermediaries, staking, lending, borrowing, and decentralized finance (DeFi) through a discussion paper released last Friday.

This discussion paper is a follow-up to draft legislation introduced by the Treasury on Tuesday, which aims to regulate specific crypto activities under the FCA’s purview.

The FCA is dedicated to creating a regulatory framework for crypto that aims to ensure market integrity and consumer protection, whilst promoting innovation.

“The crypto sector is expanding rapidly and remains largely unregulated. We aim to develop a system that allows firms to innovate safely while maintaining proper levels of market integrity and consumer protection,” said David Geale, executive director of payments and digital finance at the FCA.

The regulatory body has reported it has registered 51 firms out of 368 applications over the past five years since obtaining oversight of crypto activities under anti-money laundering regulations effective from 2020. They are looking to have a new authorization regime in place by 2026.

One of the significant topics covered in the discussion paper is whether companies should be allowed to accept credit cards for crypto purchases. The paper suggests considering various restrictions, including potentially forbidding the use of credit cards for direct crypto asset purchases.

The deadline for submitting feedback is June 13, with the FCA planning further consultations on the final regulatory framework later this year.