-
The
U.K’s
Nationa
Audit
Office
said
the
country’s
financial
regular
is
slow
to
take
enforcement
action
against
companies
breaking
rules. -
It
highlighted
the
Financial
Conduct
Authority’s
(FCA)
delays
in
registering
crypto
firms
and
taking
action
against
crypto
ATMs
as
examples.
The
U.K.’s
public
spending
watchdog,
the
National
Audit
Office,
has
said
the
Financial
Conduct
Authority
(FCA)
is
slow
to
take
enforcement
action,
pointing
to
its
handling
of
crypto
firms
over
the
years.
While
U.S.
regulators
recently
made
headlines
for
a
$4
billion
settlement
with
the
world’s
largest
crypto
exchange,
Binance,
the
U.K.
has
proceeded
slowly
by
comparison.
“Even
when
an
issue
falls
inside
the
FCA’s
perimeter,
or
it
has
the
power
to
act,
it
can
take
years
for
the
FCA
to
implement
any
enforcement
action,”
the
NAO
said
in
a
Friday
report.
The
FCA
has
required
crypto
firms
to
register
to
comply
with
the
country’s
anti-money
laundering
regulations
since
January
2020.
Although
it
then
began
supervision
work,
including
engaging
with
unregistered
firms,
“it
did
not
begin
taking
enforcement
action
against
illegal
operators
of
crypto
ATMs
until
February
2023,”
according
to
the
report.
“The
FCA
reported
publicly
that
it
saw
a
significant
drop
of
68%
in
reported
crypto
ATM
activities
in
2022,
although
not
all
of
this
could
be
attributed
to
FCA
activity,”
the
report
said.
The
financial
regulator
has
consistently
faced
criticism
from
the
crypto
industry
over
the
slow
processing
of
registration
applications.
According
to
the
report,
the
FCA
blames
its
lack
of
speed
on
poor
staff
retention.
“The
FCA
has
found
recruitment
and
retention
of
staff
with
crypto
compliance
skills
is
difficult
due
to
competition
between
employers
for
people
with
these
skills,”
the
report
said.
The
report
also
noted
that
the
FCA
has
dealt
with
1,400
cases
related
to
unregulated
crypto
activity
between
January
2020
and
June
2023.
The
FCA
received
additional
powers
over
the
crypto
sector
with
the
passing
of
the
Financial
Services
and
Markets
Bill
early
this
year,
which
recognized
crypto
and
stablecoins
as
regulated
financial
services
and
has
begun
to
use
its
new
powers.