UK’s financial regulator issues termination order for Bitcoin ATMs

Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has warned operators of crypto ATMs in the UK to shut down their machines, claiming it illegal. The financial watchdog says that it hasn’t granted any of the crypto firms registered with it the permission to operate ATM services. Government regulators are concerned about money laundering using crypto ATMs.

The FCA said on Friday that all crypto ATMs are prohibited from operating in the UK. According to a statement, the regulator warned crypto ATM operators to shut their machines down or face enforcement action.

Data from Coin ATM Radar shows 84 Bitcoin ATMs or tellers operate in the UK, none of which has been approved to offer crypto ATM services.

“We regularly warn consumers that crypto assets are unregulated and high-risk, which means people are very unlikely to have any protection if things go wrong, so people should be prepared to lose all their money if they choose to invest in them,” the FCA said in its statement.

“Since we published the list of unregistered crypto firms that may have been continuing to conduct business, a recent assessment found that 110 are no longer operational,” the FCA continued.

What’s driving this latest crackdown on Bitcoin in the UK? It seems to be driven by a concern over money laundering, and the fact that crypto ATMs don’t always have ways of positively identifying who’s using them.

Nick Sharp, deputy director of economic crime at Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, told the BBC that the authority is “constantly adapting to new technology to ensure they keep pace with how criminals and evaders look to conceal their assets.”

The use of Bitcoin ATMs has come under increasing scrutiny elsewhere in the world as well. New licensing guidelines from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) forced ATM operators there to shut down in January.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin ATM installations slow down in early 2022, a first in history. In the first two months of 2022, 1,817 crypto ATMs have been installed worldwide. Last year saw 2,435 crypto ATMs installations in the same time window.

Bitcoin ATM installations in the first two months of the year have historically increased year-over-year, according to data from Coin ATM Radar. The trend, however, breaks this year.