The UK leading financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has issued a cautionary note on the illegal operation of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX in the country.
The British Regulator, issued a cautionary note on September 17th, stating that the centralized crypto exchange has violated the precursors for them to operate, as they do not function as an approved firm.
According to the regulators they “may be providing financial services or products in the UK without authorization.” While speaking to the exchange’s client, FCA claims that they may not be able to seek the protection of the Financial Services Compensation “if things go wrong.”
Notably, with the addition of Crypto.com back in August, there were only 37 cryptocurrency firms that were registered with the FCA.
Although earlier this year, the following companies succeeded in completing the registration procedure and receiving approval for the Money Laundering Regulations: eToro UK, DRW Global Markets LTD, Zodia Markets (UK) Limited, Uphold Europe Limited, Rubicon Digital UK Limited, and Wintermute Trading LTD.
Unfortunately, with the cautionary note issued by the FCA, the FTX exchange joins the increasing numbers of unauthorized crypto exchanges operating in the United Kingdom.
FCA Given Additional Autonomy to oversee Crypto activities in the UK
Back on January 2020, to give the Financial Conduct Authority the ability to oversee enterprises functioning in the sector and implement AML and counter-terrorism financing legislation, the regulators set additional specific-crypto regulations.
Even though it is unclear what the penalty for unregistered firms holds, FCA is certainly a strict regulatory body when it comes to enforcing its regulations.
Recall that, earlier this month, the leading electronic payment service provider in the UK, ePayments, shut down its activity three years after getting a corresponding order from the FCA because of claimed flaws in its “financial crime controls.”
FTX has been under the regulator’s watch, as The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) issued a cessation of operations warning for the entity back in August, stating that it had misinformed the public about certain cryptocurrency-related services being backed by the FDIC
Again, In a bid to expand its services in Europe, FTX has been working actively. The firm claimed the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) had given its subsidiary, FTX Europe the clearance to operate in the country and the rest of Europe.
