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

The U.K. financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has extended its April 1 registration deadline for a number of crypto firms to meet its regulatory requirements. The British regulator has registered 33 crypto firms so far and 12 firms are holding temporary registration.

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.

The Temporary Registration Regime was established in December 2020 to allow existing crypto businesses that applied for registration before Dec. 16, 2020, to keep operating while the FCA continues to assess their applications.

The FCA detailed:

We have concluded our assessments, and the TRR will close on 1 April, for all but for a small number of firms where it is strictly necessary to continue to have temporary registration.

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

Over a hundred companies applied for temporary permission to operate in the U.K. while waiting for the FCA to assess their applications. More than 60 firms were rejected or have withdrawn their application.

Only 12 firms remain with temporary registration, according to the latest list on the FCA website. They are BCB Group, Blockchain.com, Cex.io, Copper Technologies (UK), Globalblock, GCEX, ITI Digital, BC Bitcoin, Revolut, Moneybrain, Tokencard (Monolith), and Coindirect.

A total of 33 firms have been approved. 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.”

The spokesperson added:

While we have registered 33 firms, we have seen too many financial crime red flags missed by the cryptoasset businesses seeking registration.

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

What do you think about the FCA extending its registration deadline for crypto firms to meet regulatory requirements? Let us know in the comments section below.