UK’s FCA issues termination order for Bitcoin ATMs

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), United Kingdom’s central financial regulator, has issued a verdict on the presence of Bitcoin ATMs within the island country.

In what has come as a surprise to many within the industry, the U.K. authority has issued a stern “shut down or face further action“ order to operators of Bitcoin ATMs, outlining their intentions to contact these companies to affirm the notice.

The watchdog cited a lack of regulatory structure, the high-risk potential of fluctuating assets and the importance of upholding the principles established within the Money Laundering Regulations (MLR) as the primary reasons for the enforcement.

“We are concerned about crypto ATM machines operating in the UK and will therefore be contacting the operators instructing that the machines be shut down or face further action.”

The FCA has granted registration approval to 33 crypto companies since August 2020 under the MLR framework, the most notable of which being: Gemini Europe Ltd, Kraken‘s holding company Payward Ltd, Galaxy Digital UK Limited and, more recently added to the list on Jan. 14, eToro (UK) Ltd.

Analytical data conducted by Coin ATM Radar indicate that there are 81 Bitcoin ATMs within the U.K., operated by eight companies. The word presented by the FCA is that none of the 33 approved companies have filed appropriate documents or attained licensing status to operate Bitcoin ATM services within the jurisdiction, and therefore all other must be deemed as illegal enterprises.

Source: Cointelegraph.com