Citing the need to safeguard financial integrity, the UK FCA justifies its strict registration requirements for crypto firms.
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority addresses worries that these strict regulations may stifle innovation in the sector by restating its dedication to a stringent registration procedure for cryptocurrency enterprises.
The FCA’s head of payments and digital assets, Val Smith, justified the organization’s position in a blog post on October 21. He said that the FCA’s professionals “never turn applications down out of hand.” Val Smith:
We know that setting and maintaining standards people can trust is a key part of any thriving, competitive sector. That’s why we hold all firms seeking registration, not just crypto firms, to strong and universal standards.”
Smith addressed worries about the possibility of illegal activity by stressing the dangers of human trafficking, organized crime, and terrorism.
She warned against lowering standards because she believed it would start a “race to the bottom” in regulatory procedures.
The FCA official clarified that in terms of evaluation procedures, the regulator considers a company’s internal controls in addition to its general operations and the individuals in charge of it. Val Smith:Â
Our decision on whether to register isn’t just based on the controls and systems firms have in place. We look at the environment they operate in, the people involved in these processes and the customers they want to reach.”
Smith defended the FCA’s regulatory framework a few months after the agency released its annual report, which showed that just four businesses were authorized out of 35 applications for cryptocurrency that were submitted in the year that ended in March.
According to the figure, over 87% of cryptocurrency registration attempts were either withdrawn, refused, or disallowed, highlighting the difficulties new players in the U.K. cryptocurrency sector face.