UK Regulator Extends Registration Deadline For Few Crypto Firms

The FCA has extended the provisional registration deadline for 12 cryptocurrency companies.

According to the UK's regulator, all other crypto companies must register by April 1.

Over 60 applications have been denied or withdrawn by the watchdog, which has approved 33.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) of the United Kingdom stated that the provisional registration deadline for 12 crypto firms had been extended.

Temporary Registration Regime is a system that allows people to register for a limited

On March 31, the agency planned to cease its temporary registration system (TRR) for crypto-asset enterprises. According to the regulator, 12 companies on the temporary registration will be forced to stop operating if they do not receive approval by the deadline.

According to a regulatory update issued today, the 12 companies will be permitted to continue trading under temporary licenses until the extended deadline.

"Except for a tiny number of enterprises for which interim registration is necessary, the TRR will close on April 1."

However, the FCA cautioned that extensions might be required if a company files an appeal or has special winding-down conditions.

Revolt, Copper Technologies, Blockchain.com, and CEX.IO are among the companies having interim registration.

The authority has previously stated that without permanent licenses, crypto firms in the UK will be forced to close down by April 1. The regime's goal is to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing.

The financial body underlined that the extension of the registration deadline for the 12 crypto firms "does not signify that the FCA has assessed them as fit and appropriate."

The delay comes after UK legislators chastised the government for failing to meet the April 1 deadline. Earlier this year, a Treasury Committee report noted that crypto-asset registrations were "too delayed." "The FCA should not extend the registration deadline beyond March 2022," it stated. If there are no other options, the FCA should write to the Committee to clarify its position."

Cryptocurrency firms are being barred from operating in the United Kingdom.

The regulator's strict yet slow approach has prompted some crypto businesses to leave the nation, annoying the crypto community and users.

Out of over 100 crypto businesses that applied to register, the FCA has only authorized 33 of them so far. Over 60 businesses have been turned down or have withdrawn their applications.

Wirex, a cryptocurrency payment app, is the latest to withdraw its application from the FCA's temporary registration regime before the deadline.

"We decided some time ago to say'screw them,'" a crypto executive told the Financial Times of his company's decision to leave the UK and relocate somewhere in Europe. Over the years, I have been the FCA's biggest supporter. They were the industry's gold standard in terms of regulation. However, that is no longer the case."

Binance and its operations were kicked out of the UK in 2021 by the regulatory authority, which stated that it was not authorized to operate in the country.