UK Govt unveils plans to establish FCA as supervisor of future cryptoassets AML/CTF regime

Maria Nikolova

The Government plans to bring all relevant cryptoasset businesses into AML/CTF regulation in January 2020.

A new Economic Crime Plan, agreed between the Chancellor Philip Hammond, Home Secretary Sajid Javid, and heads of law enforcement, major financial institutions and legal, accountancy and property organisations, was published on Friday, July 12, 2019.

The plan outlines actions to better tackle the scourge of ‘dirty money’ in the UK. It brings together the public and private sectors in closer cooperation, with improved levels of information sharing, resource pooling and technological innovation.

The plan draws together actions to overhaul the approach to tackling economic crime, including establishing a new cryptoassets regime with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), going beyond international standards to create a comprehensive response to the use of cryptoassets in illicit activity.

The Government aims to establish the FCA as the supervisor of the future cryptoassets AML/CTF regime.

The Government is developing a robust regulatory response to address the risks posed by the use of cryptoassets for illicit activity, as identified by the FATF and the Cryptoasset Taskforce. The government therefore plans to go beyond the requirements set out in 5MLD, bringing all relevant cryptoasset businesses into AML/CTF regulation in January 2020.

This will aim to not only meet the latest international standards but provide a comprehensive response to the use of cryptoassets for illicit activity. The FCA will be the AML/CTF supervisor of cryptoasset firms, drawing on its considerable experience in this area. In recognising the risks that these types of activities pose, the government is considering expanding the FCA’s supervisory toolkit to ensure it has the appropriate means by which to introduce and maintain a strong AML regime in the UK for relevant cryptoassets firms.

Let’s recall that, earlier in July, the FCA unveiled its proposals for rules to address harm to retail consumers from the sale of derivatives and exchange traded notes (ETNs) referencing certain types of cryptoassets. The FCA is consulting on banning the sale, marketing and distribution to all retail consumers of all derivatives (ie contract for difference – CFDs, options and futures) and ETNs that reference unregulated transferable cryptoassets by firms acting in, or from, the UK. This consultation fulfils the FCA’s commitment in the UK Cryptoasset Taskforce Final Report to explore a potential ban.

The FCA estimates the potential benefit to retail consumers from banning these products to be in a range from £75 million to £234.3 million a year.

Read this next

Digital Assets

Cathie Wood’s sponsored Bitcoin ETF sees historic $200 million inflows

The ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), co-sponsored by Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest, registered historic inflows exceeding $200 million on Wednesday, signaling a robust appetite among investors for Bitcoin-centric investments.

Digital Assets

Sam Bankman-Fried might see his 25-year sentence halved

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison by a Manhattan court on Thursday. This comes after he was convicted of defrauding customers and investors, with Judge Lewis Kaplan highlighting the potential future risks posed by Bankman-Fried.

Technical Analysis

EURJPY Technical Analysis Report 28 March, 2024

EURJPY currency pair under the bearish pressure after the pair reversed down from the major resistance level 164.25, which also stopped the sharp weekly uptrend at the end of last year,

Digital Assets

BlockDAG’s Presale Hits $9.9M, MultiversX & MINA Price Predictions Show Green

Read about BlockDAG’s promising $10 prediction and insights on MultiversX Price Prediction as MINA’s potential unfolds.

Digital Assets

Rockstar Co-Founder and All-star Line Up Join Advisory Board to Take Metacade into Post Beta Orbit

Metacade, the revolutionary Web3 gaming platform, prepares to streak out of beta with a slew of ground-breaking initiatives that will redefine the way blockchain games are developed.

Retail FX

Prop firm The Funded Trader shuts down, claims relaunch in April

Prop trading firm The Funded Trader has ceased all operations, with claims for a relaunch in the near future.

Digital Assets

Ethereum-Based Tokenized Real Estate Platform USP Launches On Republic

How This Californian Startup Is Revolutionizing Real Estate Investment through Ethereum-Based Tokenization.

Digital Assets

Sui Spikes in Weekly DEX Volume, Joins Top 10 of All Blockchains

March DEX volume on Sui stands at over $2.88B – up more than 49% from February – with decentralized exchange Cetus and wholesale liquidity layer DeepBook leading.

Digital Assets

Prisma Finance suffers $10 million crypto exploit, attack ongoing

Liquid staking protocol Prisma Finance fell victim to a security exploit on March 28, resulting in nearly $10 million in Prisma mkUSD and wrapped stETH being stolen by hackers.

<