- UK regulatory warns 111 crypto firms for not registering with FCA.
- Millions of UK adults are holding crypto now.
- FCA also established the “Temporary Registration Regime” earlier.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) of the United Kingdom, which is in charge of regulating the crypto industry in terms of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing, raised concerns on Tuesday against 111 unregistered cryptocurrency firms in the country.
All the crypto firms in the UK have to meet the Anti-Money Laundering standards and Counter-Terrorist Financing Laws. Besides, the firms should register with FCA to operate legally.
Mark Steward, FCA’s Head of Enforcement and Market Oversight, at the “City & Financial’s City Week event” concerning that unregulated crypto firms cause harm to consumers, banks, and payment services.
“We have a number of firms that are clearly doing business in the UK but are not registered with us, and they are dealing with someone: banks, payment service providers, and consumers.”
Significantly, more than 100 crypto firms are unregistered entities, according to FCA. The financial watchdog is being more cautious as the crypto industry in the UK is growing rapidly. However, the watchdog has temporarily allowed the companies that have already submitted their applications to continue operating. Only a few companies have earned the title of crypto businesses.
FCA Concerns for Crypto Holders
According to the recent survey of FCA, it reports that millions of UK adults are crypto holders. Steward claims that more people are investing in cryptocurrency because they fear missing out on a boom. The FCA has issued numerous warnings about the speculative and risky nature of cryptocurrencies.
Since January 10, 2021, all UK-based crypto firms were in a state to meet the AML standards and register with FCA. Besides, FCA had also launched “Temporary Registration Regime (TRR)” which permitted them to continue trading while the FCA processed their full registrations.
In addition, the FCA has pushed the deadline for temporary registration from July 2021 to March 2022. As a result of the global pandemic, many applications are still being processed.
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