The Financial Conduct Authority will put more regulatory burden on the cryptocurrency market because of the decentralized way that cryptocurrencies are made, FCA Chair, Charles Randell, said in a speech. He emphasized that any system of regulation would require a business "seeking registration or authorization with the FCA."
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"We are not going to award FCA registration or authorization to businesses which will not explain basic issues, such as who is responsible for key functions or how they are organized. That would be token regulation in the worst sense," he explained.
Randell also criticized bitcoin (EXANTE: Bitcoin) saying these cryptocurrencies have "no assets or real world cashflows underpinning the price of speculative digital tokens." He added that many of speculative digital tokens cannot even "boast a scarcity value."
The FCA Chair's comments come after the agency said that the majority of cryptocurrency-related companies failed to comply with anti-money laundering rules. According to the watchdog, only five firms registered with the watchdog since January, while 90 have temporary registration.
However, not all crypto-focused companies have agreed with the FCA's statement. For example, Celsius Network, a blockchain-based lending platform, left the UK over "increased regulatory uncertainty."
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