Up to 200 crypto firms have applied for the United Kingdom’s ‘crypto license’ but tough needs have compelled most to withdraw their applications.
A European subsidiary of United States-based crypto trading platform Uphold has got approval from the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Based on the FCA site, Uphold’s U.K. subsidiary Uphold Europe Limited got regulatory approval on February 17, joining the select list of 32 companies that have got FCA approval as Registered Crypto Asset service providers out of the 200 who managed to apply.
The approval shows that the company complies with the United Kingdom Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing regulations.
For the crypto exchanges and service providers to provide their services to the United Kingdom-based clients, they need to register with the FCA and comply with the current Anti-Money Laundering rules. The FCA has granted three cryptocurrency licenses, to eToro, Uphold, and Light Technology in 2022.
The United Kingdom’s Crypto Asset Firm Registration is considered as one of the most strict, as some of the leading global cryptocurrency exchanges like Binance have failed to secure the license. The 32 that were approved include some major names like Genesis, Gemini, Robinhood, and Coinjar.
With that approval, Uphold strives to expand its range of services to the United Kingdom clients. The CEO of the company thinks the FCA approval represents its commitment to compliance and regulations. Uphold did not instantly respond to requests for comments from reporters.
The United Kingdom has come in as one of the leading nations in terms of stringent crypto compliance needs. Although the crypto market is not formally regulated there, AML compliance and registration have made it one of the tougher regulatory markets to crack for cryptocurrency companies.
