The Financial Conduct Authority of the UK released a statement on Tuesday concerning 111 unregistered cryptocurrency companies.
The agency, which is in charge of overseeing crypto-businesses for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing purposes, has warned consumers about these fraudulent firms that may be operating with malicious intent to scam people.
Mark Steward from Financial Conduct Authority(FCA) said at the City Week event addressing the situation that they have companies who have not come forward to register themselves as well as start their own businesses. But these unknown entities are still handling transactions for other people such as bank accounts and financial advisors when it comes down to how money is made around town.
New Rules
The UK regulator has imposed strict guidelines for all cryptocurrency companies operating within the country. These new regulations mandate that all entities register their crypto businesses and file everything in a timely fashion with the regulatory authorities.
Unfortunately, this process is not as simple or easy as it seems due to limited resources available at first glance from both agencies involved (regulators and applicants).
That being said until more qualified staff can be hired by these groups of people working together on registering new firms, only those who have already filed an application will continue to operate without penalty; but once they do submit an application, things should speed up considerably since there are fewer applications than before!
Unfortunately, these 111 companies haven’t even sought the FCA’s approval. This makes their operations illegal in the country- and it’s just at this date that they’re being discovered!
The Crypto Community Is Growing
Cryptocurrencies are becoming more popular in the UK. The Financial Conduct Authority recently revealed that 2.3 million adults now hold cryptocurrency assets, a significant increase over last year’s data where only 600k citizens had invested or were interested in digital currencies and blockchain technology.
Cryptocurrency investment has been on the rise in recent years. However, a concerning trend is that investor awareness about cryptos seems to have decreased over time.
Many investors are interested because the market could go up exponentially (depending on where you decide to invest). But one economist, Steward, believes we should not play with volatility by looking at any potential profits right now – instead, he advises taking time to learn about different forms of investment before jumping into anything headfirst.
The FCA’s warnings are thinly veiled attempts at dissuading crypto enthusiasts from investing in the market. Even though cryptocurrencies have been around since 2009, only now is it becoming a hot topic for governments and banks to take notice of.
The Financial Conduct Authority has issued multiple warnings against speculative investment over cryptocurrency ICOs which they deem too risky due to the lack of knowledge about such complex products among retail investors.
