Table of Contents:

· FCA has only approved applications from 38 cryptocurrency-related companies in the past three years

· Multiple cryptocurrency companies are calling for clearer guidance from relevant regulatory agencies in the UK

BlockBeats today reported that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the regulatory body for financial markets in the UK, updated its warning list on October 8th, adding 143 new entities, including mainstream cryptocurrency exchanges such as Huobi and KuCoin. These exchanges have been marked as "unauthorized" institutions, and the FCA warns consumers to "avoid dealing with these companies".

Continuous Increase in Cryptocurrency Regulation in the UK this Year

FCA's unpredictable and elusive regulatory rules, as well as strong regulatory measures and strict controls, have directly knocked out many participants in the mainstream cryptocurrency industry.

On September 13, 2022, ePayments, one of the largest electronic payment providers in the UK, officially ceased operations due to its inability to comply with FCA's anti-money laundering regulations and "financial crime control" requirements; On December 10, 2022, FCA requested the temporary suspension of Argo Blockchain's stock, a bitcoin mining enterprise.

On September 22nd of this year, cryptocurrency exchange Bybit announced that it will suspend its operations in the UK in October after lengthy negotiations with UK regulators to comply with regulatory changes. Starting from October 1st, new customers will not be able to open accounts; from October 8th, existing customers will not be allowed to add funds, create new contracts, or increase positions.

Regarding this, the encryption industry hopes that the relevant regulatory authorities in the UK can provide clearer guidance. August 10th, the UK encryption lobbying group CryptoUK stated that the FCA's plan to ban cryptocurrency incentives may force encryption companies to move out of the UK. They urge the FCA to provide clearer guidance on the upcoming cryptocurrency advertising rules, clarifying what constitutes "qualified encryption assets" and "financial promotions".

Perhaps the UK is not the least friendly country to the encryption industry, but its strong regulatory measures also make many people in the encryption industry feel intimidated.

FCA has only approved applications from 38 cryptocurrency-related companies in the past three years

FCA is the UK government department responsible for regulating the cryptocurrency industry. According to UK regulations, companies that engage in cryptocurrency activities must be registered with or obtain temporary operating qualifications from the FCA. On its website, the FCA also revealed that since 2020, it has received 291 registration applications, but only approved 38 of them, accounting for approximately 13%. Currently, the list of cryptocurrency providers registered with the FCA includes 42 entities such as Bitstamp, Revolut, and Gemini.

In recent years, the number of encryption industry-related companies approved by FCA has been extremely rare. According to BlockBeats statistics, only two companies have been approved to operate in the UK in the past six months. On June 13th, Bitstamp UK Limited, a European cryptocurrency trading platform, was approved by FCA to operate in the UK. On October 6th, Komainu, a compliant encryption custody company jointly established by Nomura Securities, Ledger, and Coinshares, announced that it has obtained FCA approval and registered as a custodial wallet provider.

Behind the few approved companies and the large number of companies on the "blacklist", there are also many companies that have voluntarily withdrawn their applications. On January 30th, cryptocurrency companies such as Wirex and B2C2, which operate in the United States, have withdrawn their registration applications to the FCA. In response, the FCA stated on its official website that these companies either voluntarily withdrew their applications because they did not meet the regulations, or withdrew their applications because their information was not comprehensive enough.

In fact, as early as April 26th of this year, FCA Executive Director Sarah Pritchard stated at the London City Week conference that plans to strengthen regulation of crypto marketing were underway. The rules will be announced after legislation is proposed, and companies will have four months to make adjustments once the government enacts the legislation.

On May 5th, according to CoinDesk, FCA has been cracking down on illegal cryptocurrency ATMs. Therese Chambers, the Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight at FCA, stated that "cryptocurrency ATMs that are not registered with the FCA are illegal, and we will take action to stop illegal activities."

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