The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is Britain's top financial regulator, has said that many crypto companies are still trying to get licences to operate in the U.K., even though they didn't meet regulatory requirements the first time. The regulator said, "They know we have a good system of regulation, and if they meet our standards, that's important for every country where they want to apply."
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is Britain's top financial regulator, has said that many crypto companies are still trying to get licences to operate in the U.K., even though they didn't meet regulatory requirements the first time. The regulator said, "They know we have a good system of regulation, and if they meet our standards, that's important for every country where they want to apply."
FCA on Cryptocurrency Rule
Sheldon Mills, who is the executive director for competition and consumers at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), talked about how to regulate cryptocurrencies at a City and Financial conference on Thursday.
British lawmakers and the crypto industry have criticised the country's top financial regulator for being slow to process licence applications and for rejecting many applicants, even though the government has said it wants to make the U.K. a global hub for crypto assets.
Mills said that strict licencing requirements don't stop crypto companies. He pointed out that many of them reapply for a licence to work in the U.K. even though they were denied the first time. She said it wasn't surprising that many crypto companies were still trying to get licences in the U.K., even though some had already been turned down.
Mills also said that 95 people have been hired to work on the FCA's licencing team, and the number of pending applications has dropped by 40%. This is good for the economy and the financial services industry in the UK, and it encourages competition, foreign investment, and growth.
The FCA has said in the past that 90% of crypto companies that wanted a licence to do business in the UK either pulled their applications or were denied because they couldn't meet the standards.
With Liz Truss as the new prime minister of the U.K., rules about crypto could change. Before she took office, several important government officials who had worked on the country's crypto policy left their jobs. These included the Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and the Economic Secretary to the Treasury John Glen.
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill was put forward by the British government in the House of Commons last week. The government said it "aims to strengthen the U.K.'s fight against economic crime." In May, the U.K. government explained how it was going to promote the use of cryptocurrencies and reaffirmed that it would regulate stablecoins.
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