FCA Extends Deadline for Crypto Firms to Meet Regulatory Requirements in UK — 33 Firms Licensed so Far – Regulation Bitcoin News

Financial Conduct Authority (UK) has extended the April 1 deadline to register a few crypto companies in order to comply with its regulatory requirements. This British regulator registered 33 cryptocurrency firms to date, while 12 are still in temporary registration.

FCA Extended Deadline for Crypto Firms

The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) updated information on the Temporary Registration Regime (TRR) on its website Wednesday, ahead of the April 1 registration deadline for crypto firms.

To allow crypto companies that have applied to register before December 16, 2020 to carry on their operations while the FCA reviews them, the FCA established the Temporary Registration Regime in December 2020.

This is what the FCA said:

Our assessments are complete. The TRR will end on the 1st of April for everyone except for a few firms for which it is absolutely necessary to maintain temporary registration.

“This is necessary where a firm may be pursuing an appeal or may have particular winding-down circumstances,” the regulator added.

While the FCA reviews their applications, more than 100 businesses applied for temporary permission in order to be allowed to trade in the U.K. More than 60 businesses were turned down or withdrawn from their application.

The latest FCA list shows that only 12 businesses remain without temporary registration. These include Blockchain.com and Cex.io as well as Copper Technologies (UK), Globalblock and GCEX.

FCA Registers 33 Crypto-Firms

The approval of 33 companies total has been granted. An FCA spokesperson told Yahoo Finance U.K. Wednesday: “We have been reviewing crypto asset firms’ applications to ensure they meet the minimum standards we expect — that those who run these firms are fit and proper and that they have adequate systems to identify and prevent flows of money from crime.”

A spokesperson said:

While 33 registered firms have been identified, too many of the financial crime red flags have not been seen by cryptoasset companies seeking to register.

“Worse, we have seen examples where firms do not have the controls necessary to raise red flags in the first place,” the spokesperson concluded.

Do you agree with the FCA expending its registration deadline for cryptocurrency firms so they can meet regulatory requirements. Please comment below.

Kevin Helms

Kevin is a graduate of Austrian Economics. He discovered Bitcoin in 2011, and has been an advocate ever since. His main interests are in Bitcoin security, open source systems, network effects, cryptography, and intersections between economics, cryptography, and Cryptography.