UK Financial Conduct Authority Announcement: All cryptocurrency ATMs operating within the country are illegal, failure to close will result in enforcement actions.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which has issued several high-risk warnings in the cryptocurrency field, has once again taken action, this time enforcing against Bitcoin ATMs citing regulatory factors such as anti-money laundering.

Aiming at Bitcoin ATMs

The announcement by the FCA states:

In the UK, cryptocurrency ATMs offering services must be registered and comply with the UK Money Laundering Regulations (MLR). Currently, registered cryptocurrency firms are not authorized to provide ATM services, meaning that all cryptocurrency ATMs in the UK are illegal, and consumers should not use them.

The ATM company Gidiplus recently lost a case in the High Court, as the judge stated that "there is a lack of evidence to show that Gidiplus can conduct its business in a compliant manner." The FCA will be contacting the operator to shut down the ATMs or take further action.

The FCA frequently warns consumers that cryptocurrencies are unregulated and high-risk assets, making it difficult for the public to seek protection in case of issues. Therefore, if the public chooses to invest in cryptocurrencies, they should be prepared to lose all of their funds.

Only 33 Cryptocurrency Firms Registered

Since August 2020, the FCA has only approved 33 cryptocurrency firms under the UK Money Laundering Regulations (MLR) framework. According to data from Coin ATM Radar, there are currently 81 Bitcoin ATMs in the UK, but none of the 33 approved companies have been authorized to provide cryptocurrency ATM services.