UK Financial Watchdog Increased Crypto Investigations by 74% in 2019

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the primary financial regulatory body in the United Kingdom, has seen a sharp rise of 74% in crypto-related investigations in 2019.  

According to a Financial Times report, the 74% increase was seen when compared to the number of inquiries the FCA made between January and October of 2018. The report stated that the FCA is currently looking into 87 firms in the space, either as part of “early-stage scrutiny” or “full-blown enforcement investigations.”   

David Heffron, a partner at the Pinsent Masons law firm, told the Financial Times that the increased investigations “reflects the FCA’s increasingly hands-on and no-nonsense approach to enforcing the law in the cryptocurrency market.”  

However, Heffron also noted that the increase in the number of crypto-related investigations could be positive for the industry as it removes the bad players in the market. He stated:  

“For cryptocurrency businesses acting lawfully, these statistics will be encouraging – they want bad actors pushed out.”  

The FCA previously stated that it would not regulate Bitcoin and Ether in its policy statement issued on digital assets.   

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