- 50 crypto firms are under active investigation, the UK’s finance watchdog said on Thursday.
The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which has developed and gradually built a registry of crypto firms under its auspices, has announced that it has filed more than 300 lawsuits related to crypto-asset businesses in the past six months. This registration was noticeably slow to add new firms, potentially causing problems for businesses operating in the country as the registration deadline approaches.
The FCA’s announcement also included the regulator’s statement that it has “50 active investigations, including criminal investigations against unauthorized businesses.”
Authorities have launched hundreds of investigations into businesses suspected of non-compliance, the FCA said on Thursday:
“The FCA also announced that over six months, it has filed more than 300 lawsuits related to potential crypto-asset businesses that are not registered with the FCA, many of which may be fraudulent, and has 50 active investigations, including criminal investigations against unauthorized businesses.”
Earlier this year, the FCA also released draft regulations aimed at tightening the rules governing crypto product promotions.
The UK is pretty strict even on suspicion of crime
The Advertising Standards Committee (ASA), the UK advertising watchdog, has recently published four new rules, confirming that one of them includes prohibition provisions regarding the advertisements of meme cryptocurrencies.
The regulator specifically targeted the FLOKI token, noting that the advertising style of FLOKI Inu was designed to attract large investors and instill in investors the belief that investing in cryptocurrency is risk-free.
Such moves show that UK government agencies are taking action against bad actors in the crypto industry, even when it comes to minor issues that are likely to result in huge losses and risks for investors.