FCA Warns against 111 Unregistered Crypto Asset Firms
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Britain's markets watchdog, warns consumers, banks and payment services companies against dealing with the 111 crypto asset firms that are operating in Britain without necessary registration.
Mark Steward, the FCA's head of enforcement and market oversight, told City & Financial's City Week event that such companies were high risk, volatile and unregulated, posing a risk to the broader financial system.
"We have a number of firms that are clearly doing business in the UK without being registered with us and they are dealing with someone: banks, payment services firm, consumers," he said. "This is a very real risk so we are worried about that."
Since the FCA was appointed anti-money laundering（AML） and counter terrorist financing （CTF）supervisor of cryptoasset firms, such businesses have had to obtain full FCA registration before they can begin trading.
But only a handful have gained the status of crypto businesses with the slow approval process as one main reason. The watchdog has temporarily allowed the operations of the companies that have already submitted their applications.
These 111 companies have not even applied for the FCA's approval, which makes their operations illegal in the country even at this date.
Fazzaco has reported that around 2.3 million adults now hold cryptoassets but the overall understanding of cryptocurrency has declined, which means supervision on crypto market is of great need.
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