U.K. Financial Regulator’s Crypto Related Investigations Up By 74%
- Data from a law firm shows that the FCA conducted around 50 investigations into crypto-related firms in 2018, compared to 87 in 2019 so far.
- The increased scrutiny demonstrated the FCA’s increasingly hands-on and no-nonsense approach to the crypto industry.
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U.K.’s financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has seen a rise in investigations related to cryptocurrencies this year, the Financial Times reported on 7 October.
According to the publication, data provided by David Heffron, partner at law firm Pinsent Masons, suggest that the FCA has seen a 74% rise in investigations into cryptocurrency firms since last year.
As per the data, in 2018 the financial regulator had around 50 cases related to cryptocurrencies, while this year it is looking into 87 firms in the crypto space.
The number of cases includes both full enforcement investigations, as well as early stage scrutiny.
Heffron said that this spike in investigations portrays the “FCA’s increasingly hands-on and no-nonsense approach” to the cryptocurrency space.
He further noted that this is not necessarily a bad thing for the industry, as the FCA will be able to get rid of bad actors on the market.
He said:
“For cryptocurrency businesses acting lawfully these statistics will be encouraging — they want bad actors pushed out.”
Several months ago, the FCA issued guidance on crypto assets which clarified that while the agency will not regulate Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), other cryptocurrencies still fall under its jurisdiction.
In July it also proposed a ban on all cryptocurrency-related financial instruments for retail investors, such as derivatives and exchange-traded notes (ETNs).
- The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority continues its crackdown on crypto ATMs in the country, and has disrupted a total of 26 machines since the start of the year.
- The regulator warned the public back in March 2022 that all crypto ATMs in the country were operating illegally, and issued a “shut down or face further action” order.
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- Crypto.com has once again expanded its regulatory achievements with the acquisition of a major payment institution license for digital payment token services in Singapore.
- The license, for which the company received an in-principle approval last June, enables the exchange to provide a greater range of payment services in Singapore.
- The current governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, announced he is joining the race for the 47th president of the U.S. during a Twitter Spaces event on Wednesday.
- During his speech DeSantis declared his support for Bitcoin and the wider crypto space, noting that if Joe Biden is re-elected “they’ll probably end up killing it”.