The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK Regulator, has established a Temporary Registration Regime that will allow existing crypto-asset firms, who have applied to be registered with the FCA, to continue trading in the UK financial market.
From 10 January 2020, the FCA became the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF) supervisor for crypto firms, involving firms that exchange money to and from crypto assets and those that safeguard their customers crypto assets. From this date, ‘existing crypto-asset businesses’ (i.e. firms operating immediately before 10 January 2020) had to comply with the Money Laundering Regulations; such firms were required to be registered with the FCA by 10 January 2021.
This is related to the Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (Directive (EU) 2018/843). The Directive is the first EU legislation regulating crypto which obliges the EU Member States to enforce fiat-to-crypto exchanges and custodian wallet providers to have appropriate procedures and policies preventing money-laundering and terrorist financing.
Existing Firm requirements