- The FCA has found 26 illegal crypto ATMs in the UK
- Confiscating, freezing, and recovering crypto is now easier
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) of the United Kingdom has ramped up its campaign against crypto ATMs in the country, CoinDesk wrote. In May and June, it carried out inspections in cooperation with the Southwest Regional Organized Crime Unit and other police authorities. They inspected 18 sites in those two months, bringing the annual total to 34.
26 ATMs were illegal
So far, the FCA has found that 26 crypto ATMs are operating illegally. One ATM took 1,000 British pounds ($1,290) from a user and designated the transaction as unsuccessful, but it didn’t return any money.
No protection for victims
The FCA has warned members of the general public that they are not protected from illegal crypto ATMs in the country. If they lose their money, no one will compensate them. The FCA has also warned that all crypto ATMs on UK territory are illegal because no crypto firm is licensed to operate an ATM in the country. Over three dozen crypto firms are registered in the UK.
There are 18 Bitcoin ATMs in the UK
According to data from the platform Coin ATM Radar, valid toward March this year, only 18 of the 1,469 Bitcoin ATMs operating in Europe are in the UK. In contrast, the US had 32,164 Bitcoin ATMs, making up more than four-fifths of the world’s total.
Rishi Sunak, the current Prime Minister of the UK, presented a comprehensive plan to turn the UK into a “global crypto asset tech hub” at the beginning of 2022. He will implement this plan during his tenure.
After that, the UK Parliament introduced a bill on preventing economic crimes, which increased police powers to make confiscating, freezing, and recovering cryptocurrency easier. The bill is part of an effort to prevent money laundering and build a framework to regulate crypto in the UK.
