Global: FCA investigated 300 crypto operators in 2021

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has opened 300 probes into unauthorised cryptocurrency operators in a six-month span in 2021.

The FCA declared that many of the cases launched during those six months involved scams, and that reports of digital assets frauds to its anti-scam website had jumped by 50%. It has 50 investigations underway into unauthorised businesses in the UK.

Consumers reported 4,300 potential crypto scams to the FCA’s ScamSmart website over the six-month, far more than the 1,600 reports for the next most common category, related to pension transfers.

The watchdog’s oversight of crypto firms is mostly limited to making sure they comply with anti-money laundering standards and shutting down unsupervised UK-based firms. However, the FCA said there was considerable overlap between unauthorised firms and those involved in scams.

The regulator maintains a list of nearly 250 firms that ‘appear to be carrying on crypto asset activity that are not registered with the FCA for anti-money laundering purposes’, although it said that register likely only provides a partial picture of the unauthorised activity.