The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK’s financial regulator, is toughening its fight against crypto ATMs. In the urban arena, the digital chimera is confronted with the reality of the laws: 26 crypto counters have already been taken out of service.
A coordinated Ballet: inspections in collaboration with law enforcement
FCA is not taking a break. After drastic new rules for crypto ads, she advances. She orchestrated inspections, alongside powerful allies. The Southwest Organized Crime Unit. Law enforcement agencies in London, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.
Their joint dance led to new targets. Eighteen additional sites inspected in May and June. In total, thirty-four for the year. Result of the operation? Twenty-six illegal machines taken out of service.
Behind this number, stories of citizens trapped in these new kind of terminals. In one case, a transaction of 1000 pounds sterling (1290 dollarss) failed, disappearing into digital nothingness, with no possibility of restitution. A new illustration of the importance of regulation in this still wild digital world.
FCA Warnings: The Shattered Mirror of the Crypto Dream
Since March 2022, the FCA has issued a series of warnings hammering home that all cryptocurrency ATMs in the UK are operating outside the law. In fact, it is a red flag that reveals an alarming reality: none of the more than 40 registered crypto businesses in the UK are licensed to offer ATM services.
Consumers who cross the threshold of these illegal counters enter a digital “no man’s land” where no protection is guaranteed. The crypto dream, once reflected in the glowing mirror of these machines, is cracking under the impact of this reality.
The year 2023, oscillating between digitization and regulation, reveals an alternative reality. Regulators, like the FCA, do not only play the role of protective guardians that are often attributed to them. Their constant vigilance could mask an intention to restrict the access of ordinary citizens to the crypto universe. Faced with this unstable balance between potential for financial revolution and undefined dangers, the future of cryptocurrencies in the United Kingdom is like a book to be completed. Who will be the author? The citizen greedy for financial freedom, or the regulators guardians of the traditional order? The ink is still fresh.
Receive a digest of news in the world of cryptocurrencies by subscribing to our new service of daily and weekly so you don’t miss any of the essential Tremplin.io!
