UK FCA Updates Temporary Registration List to Allow Only 5 Crypto Companies to Operate With a Full Licence

The UK's financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has allowed five cryptocurrency firms to continue operations within the country with the provision of temporary registrations. The Financial Conduct Authority updated the digital asset firms list which included firms that have been functioning with provisional registrations. The five firms that have been allowed to operate under a temporary licence include Cex.io, Copper Technologies (UK), Globalblock, Revolut, and Moneybrain. The deadline for crypto firms to register with the FCA was last week but applications from these five firms' are still pending.

At the end of March, the British financial regulator said that it extended the registration deadline for some crypto firms to meet its regulatory requirements. At the time, there were 12 firms on the temporary registration list. Companies that are not on the latest list cannot continue to operate after April 1. That said, being on the list does not mean the FCA has assessed them as “fit and proper,” it said on its website.

As per a report by Bitcoin.com, the regulator has thus far registered 33 firms with a spokesperson of the FCA stating, “We've been reviewing crypto-asset firms' applications to ensure they meet the minimum standard of running a firm that is fit, proper, and has adequate systems to identify and prevent crime.”

In the UK, firms permitted to “carry out crypto asset activities” must either be registered with the FCA or have been granted temporary status — originally set to expire in March 2022 — following a crackdown on Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combatting the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) compliance.

The FCA temporary registration list update arrives after the UK released a set of guidelines last week, defining the crypto sector. Stablecoins have been recognised as an official mode of payment in the UK as part of its fresh announcements.

The British government had launched a consultation on crypto assets and stablecoins last year, the outcomes of which were announced at the Global Finance Summit by UK's Economic Secretary, John Glen.

“The government intends to legislate to bring stablecoins — were used as a means of payment — within the payments regulatory perimeter, creating conditions for stablecoins issuers and service providers to operate and invest in the UK,” an official blog post said.

British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, meanwhile ordered the creation of tradeable, government-backed non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as part of his plans of transforming the UK into a global crypto hub. Sunak has ordered the Royal Mint to produce these blockchain-based digital collectibles.