National Westminster Bank (NatWest), a major retail and commercial bank in the UK, has limited the amount of daily transfers to cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance, over fraud concerns, Reuters has learned, citing a spokesperson for NatWest. The bank has reportedly limited transfers for a whole number of exchanges and digital asset firms.
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"We have seen a high level of cryptocurrency investment scams targeting our customers across retail and business banking, particularly through social media sites," the spokesperson added.
The spokesperson also added that the measure is a temporary one as the bank detected "significant levels of fraud-related harm" for its customers. Earlier in April, iHodl reported that NatWest ceased support for business clients that accept payments in cryptocurrencies as digital assets — according to the bank — pose "high risk."
In the meantime, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) warned that at least 111 cryptocurrency firms are posing risk to the financial system. According to Mark Steward, the FCA's Head of Enforcement and Market Oversight, the companies are highly volatile and work without necessary registration.
The FCA warning follows its previous statement according to which only five firms registered with the watchdog since January, while 90 have temporary registration. The FCA added that over 50 firms withdrew their applications for registration. At the same time, the watchdog extended the deadline of its temporary registrations regime from July 9 to the end of March 2022.
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