The Bank of England's deputy governor for financial stability, Jon Cunliffe, has warned that cryptocurrencies could spark a global financial crisis unless tough regulations are introduced. Cunliffe likened the rate of growth of the cryptoasset market, from $16 billion five years ago to $2.3 trillion today, to the $1.2 trillion subprime mortgage market in 2008. Regulators around the world have begun work to establish a common policy framework to protect the banks from the public interest, to manage the exponential growth of cryptoassets, but Cunliffe said this must be pursued as a matter of urgency.