Payments

UK to inspect sites for illegal crypto ATMs

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May 16, 2023

The Financial Conduct Authority of the U.K. has announced it will inspect sites "suspected of hosting illegally operated crypto ATMs," according to a report by Coin Telegraph.

The authority has been cracking down on cryptocurrency ATMs since it announced that all such ATMs were unregistered and thus illegal to operate. In the past few months, the agency sent cease-and-desist letters to suspected operators in London and Leeds. It has also conducted raids in the cities of Exeter, Nottingham and Sheffield.

"The action we've taken over the past few months and wider work shows that we will act to stop illegal activity," Therese Chambers, executive director of enforcement and market oversight of FCA, said in the report. "Besides disrupting unregistered crypto businesses, the joint efforts have helped raise awareness of illegally operated crypto ATMs in the U.K. among the public."

There are currently more than 15 cryptocurrency ATMs in operation in the U.K., according to CoinATMRadar.