The Financial Conduct Authority, the U.K.'s financial regulator, has published proposals to regulate the crypto market for the first time, according to the Financial Times. Included in the proposal are rules around listing digital assets and restrictions on capital requirements and insider trading. No longer included is a ban on cryptoasset trading platforms offering their own tokens, a regulation from another FCA proposal earlier in the year.

David Geale, FCA executive director for payments and digital finance, spoke to the Times about the proposal. He's hoping the industry will be a place "where innovation can thrive, but where people understand the risks. Regulation cannot — and should not — remove all risk. Instead, it should make sure anyone investing in crypto does so with their eyes open."

The goals of the regulations are to ensure the market operates similarly to traditional financial markets while accounting for the unique risks of crypto. In addition to the rules on listing digital assets and insider trading, there were details about oversight of crypto brokers and intermediaries as well as regulation of staking services. Crypto firms would also need to hold sufficient capital and maintain liquid assets to avoid sudden collapses and prevent the trapping of customer investments.

Cryptocurrency has been controversial for its high energy consumption and excessive carbon pollution. Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin use proof-of-work mining, which requires a lot of computing power and uses as much energy as some countries, as The New York Times reported.

Mining hardware also produces a lot of electronic waste that becomes obsolete every few years and is hard to repair and repurpose. On the surface, cryptocurrency undermines many of the world's climate action goals.

However, proof-of-stake cryptocurrency systems use far less energy, and some use renewable energy or capture wasted energy. If there is investment in these systems, the industry could become much greener and even finance clean energy projects.

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Geale hopes regulations will encourage a safer, stronger market. "Regulation is coming — and we want to get it right," he said. "Our goal is to have a regime that protects consumers, supports innovation, and promotes trust."

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