- Bitcoin cashpoints have been declared illegal in the UK
- The Financial Conduct Authority has not approved licenses for any Bitcoin ATM operators in the region
- All Bitcoin cashpoints in the UK will now have to be shut down or their operators will face further action
British Bitcoin cashpoints have been declared illegal and must be closed down, according to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The UK’s financial regulator, which has held a firmly anti-crypto stance for many years, today announced that no firms running Bitcoin cashpoints in the UK have been awarded a license to operate and so are “doing so illegally”. The FCA has previously warned crypto companies that without being on the Financial Services Register they were operating illegally, and has decided to take action.
Consumers Should “Not be Using” Bitcoin Cashpoints
Bitcoin cashpoints are a handy method for anyone wanting to turn cash into bitcoin, but they have been synonymous with illegal use for years. Without naming Bitcoin cashpoints specifically, the FCA said in 2020 that all UK businesses dealing in cryptocurrencies needed to add themselves to the Financial Services Register and get approved or risk being in breach of financial laws.
According to the FCA’s post today, “None of the cryptoasset firms registered with us have been approved to offer crypto ATM services, meaning that any of them operating in the UK are doing so illegally and consumers should not be using them.”
Since Bitcoin cashpoints come under this category the FCA has added that it is now “concerned about crypto ATM machines operating in the UK and will therefore be contacting the operators instructing that the machines be shut down or face further action.”
FCA Continues Crypto Crackdown
The FCA warned in June last year that UK crypto firms weren’t meeting money laundering standards, and clearly this includes operators of the region’s Bitcoin cashpoints. This has been part of a wider crackdown which has included advising users to avoid investing in cryptocurrencies at all, while still allowing Brits to ruin themselves gambling.
According to www.coinatmradar.com there are 81 Bitcoin cashpoints in the UK, 63% of which are in London and all of which, it seems, will now have to be withdrawn.
