On March 11, the UK’s BBC reported that the country’s financial regulator FCA has ordered the closure and shutdown of all Bitcoin ATMs across the UK.
A Bitcoin ATM is a machine that allows a person to buy or sell Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies with cash or debit cards. (To see more article references) The reason for the concern came after the order was issuedReply to the public fca said: “Cryptocurrency ATMs providing cryptocurrency asset exchange services in the UNITED Kingdom must be registered with this authority and comply with UK money laundering regulations.”
Most Bitcoin ATMs in the UK are operated by 8 cryptocurrency operators and none have an FCA operating license. This means that these machines do not guarantee compliance with strict financial rules and regulations in the UK.
“We regularly warn consumers that cryptocurrencies are unregulated and high-risk, without any safeguards if users manipulate mistakes. So people should be psychologically prepared to lose all their money if they choose to invest in them,” the FCA said in a statement. Gidiplus, one of eight Bitcoin ATM operators, lost the case in a judicial review aimed at overturning the FCA’s decision to reject it. The judge’s decision concluded that “there is still a lack of evidence to show compliance with applicable laws in the course of Gidiplus’s operations.” The rule is said to be heavy-handed, with the FCA also announcing that it will take coercive measures if cryptocurrency ATM operators in the UK do not make the decision.
Currently, only 33 companies in the UK are licensed by the FCA and of which 22 are on the provisional approval list that expires at the end of this month means that all those on this provisional approval list if they want to trade after March will be required to obtain FCA approval. In addition to the FCA’s aggressive control and intervention in the field of cryptocurrency trading and mining, regulations on cryptocurrency advertising in the United Kingdom have also recently been tightened, namely that the country’s advertising standards agency (ASA) recently banned some cryptocurrency campaigns from being promoted, Even the stronger line that is removing meme coin ads was made just last week.
