Due to inadequate fraud protection in the United Kingdom, nearly 90 percent of crypto companies’ registrations were rejected

It seems that the United Kingdom is not warming up to cryptocurrencies. A report released on Thursday by the state financial service states that nearly 90 percent of applications from crypto companies were rejected last year. The reason? Inadequate fraud protection.

– More than 87 percent of crypto company registrations were rejected, withdrawn, or denied due to poor anti-money laundering controls – states the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in its latest annual report. The FCA regulates financial services companies and financial markets in the United Kingdom, and they added that they have also introduced new rules so that companies promoting cryptocurrencies must do so in a way that is ‘clear, fair, and not misleading’.

Of the 35 applications received in the past year, the FCA states that only four were successfully registered. Almost half, or 15, were withdrawn, and nine were rejected.

– We rejected submissions that did not include key components necessary for conducting an assessment or where the poor quality of key components rendered the submission invalid – explained the FCA.

The British regulatory agency also stated that it issued 450 consumer warnings against companies illegally promoting cryptocurrencies in the first three months after the rules came into effect.

– We continue to play a leading role internationally, shaping global standards on cryptocurrencies, sustainability, and non-bank financing, to name just a few – added the FCA in its report.

In July, the FCA fined CB Payments Limited (CBPL), part of Coinbase, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, £3.5 million for allowing ‘high-risk clients’ to purchase cryptocurrencies.

The regulator claimed that CBPL, which allows users to purchase digital assets on Coinbase, was lax with its anti-money laundering (AML) controls, increasing the risk that criminals could use CBPL to launder money earned from crime.