UK Regulator Ramped Up Campaign Against Crypto ATMs in May and June
The financial watchdog conducted inspections in conjunction with the South West Regional Organized Crime Unit and the police forces of Greater London, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.
Jul 11, 2023 at 8:02 a.m. UTC:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coindesk/6UCRY2HWSRA57GUB7WNB6JVZEI.png)
/arc-photo-coindesk/arc2-prod/public/LXF2COBSKBCNHNRE3WTK2BZ7GE.png)
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) crackdown against crypto ATMs in the U.K. saw another 18 sites inspected in May and June to bring the total for the year to 34. In total the regulator said it has "disrupted" 26 machines operating unlawfully across the country.
The financial watchdog conducted the inspections in conjunction with the South West Regional Organized Crime Unit and the police forces of Greater London, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.
In one case, a member of the public paid 1,000 British pounds ($1,290) into a crypto ATM and, even though the machine said the transaction was unsuccessful, no funds were returned.
The FCA has issued various warnings since March 2022 informing the public that any crypto ATMs in the country are operating illegally and that consumers will not be protected if they use one and something goes wrong, such as them falling victim to a scam.
None of the more than 40 registered crypto companies in the U.K. is licensed to offer ATM services and therefore any crypto ATMs operating in the U.K. are doing so illegally, the FCA has warned. There are 10 such locations in the country, according to data site Coin ATM Radar.
:format(webp)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/coindesk/008ae87f-5c6e-412b-816b-ded600ac5054.png)
Jamie Crawley is a CoinDesk news reporter based in London.