Cryptocurrency firms are leaving the United Kingdom to become a preferred jurisdiction, Reuters reported. This is because the number of regulatory registration applications that have been withdrawn has increased dramatically.
Although the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), mandated the registration, the approval process proved to be very slow. The British regulator approved six crypto companies, including the Gemini and Arca of the Winklevoss twins.
The regulator also increased temporary relief for crypto companies up to March 2019.
Many crypto exchanges have withdrawn their applications and are now preparing to leave the country. A spokesperson for the FCA revealed that 64 crypto companies had withdrawn their applications. This is an increase from 51 in June.
Chasing The Giant
The FCA is becoming hostile to crypto companies. Last week, Binance was warned by the regulator that it is operating illegally in the country.
It is interesting to note that Binance withdrew their registration application with FCA in May, according to a spokesperson. This might have led to the warning.
A Binance spokesperson stated that the exchange giant had worked closely with the British regulator in order to improve security and sustainability of the industry and provide the best services and protection for our users. However, that did not make it possible to establish UK operations.
Binance was founded in 2017 and has grown to become a crypto-giant, offering services that range from spot and derivatives trading to lending and mining. Japan’s top financial regulator recently flagged Binance for illegally operating within the country.
The FCA appears to be cracking down on crypto companies. Recent revelations by its head of enforcement showed that 111 unregistered cryptocurrency companies were operating in the country. This is all happening at a time when crypto demand is on the rise in the country. The number of crypto-holding adults has jumped to 2.3million.
