UK Regulators are skeptical of the crypto industry’s self-regulation.

A survey published by the Royal United Service Institute (RUSI), UK’s oldest defense and security think tank, found banks, governments, and crypto executives share vastly different opinions about the self-regulation of the cryptocurrency industry. According to the report, 63% of banks and 56% of governments saw cryptocurrencies as a risk, while only 9% of people in the crypto sector agreed. The crypto sector was also regarded to be “much more confident” about their own tools and risk management policies than respondents from traditional sectors.

“Confidence over such self-regulation may be inflated.”

Kayla Izenman, a research analyst with RUSI, said that the crypto industry appears to have a great amount of confidence in their own abilities to counter and detect risk, whereas the government doesn’t have nearly as much faith.” The survey recorded 566 unique responses from regulators, intelligence units, and crypto industry officials and noted criminal activity and usage of crypto was a concern across all respondents, with over 70% voting for that aspect. Such concerns included the risk of money laundering via cryptocurrencies and the purchase of illicit materials on the darknet, terror financing, human trafficking, and Initial Coin Offerings.

The use of cryptocurrency is expected to rise in the next five years.

The respondents unanimously agreed that the use of cryptocurrencies is expected to rise in the next five years. However, it remains a concern for authorities and regulators. Crypto regulations in most parts of the world remain in a grey area. “All sectors agree that the use of cryptocurrency is on the rise, but we know there’s no clear consensus on domestic regulatory action,” said Izenman. Crypto industry officials remain positive about the tech as they noted that crypto transactions offered more transparency than fiat and were, hence, more beneficial in terms of security.