The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ordered the immediate closure of 81 Bitcoin ATMs operating across the region, as it was deemed illegal. The measure was announced in a statement and the agency warned those responsible for its operations that if they did not shut it down, they would face legal action.

“We have warned crypto ATM operators in the UK to shut down their machines or face legal action. Crypto ATMs offering crypto asset exchange services in the UK must be registered with us and comply with the UK Money Laundering Regulations (MLR). None of the crypto businesses listed with us have been approved to offer crypto ATM services, which means that any of those operating in the UK are doing so illegally and consumers are not allowed to use them,” reads the first paragraph of the statement issued by the FCA.

The financial regulator explained in the document that “The High Court recently ruled Gidiplus, a company that offers crypto ATM services, that it wants to continue trading… The judge concluded that there was ‘lack of evidence on how Gidiplus would run its business. in a widely compatible way.

Only 13% of companies in the country have accepted payments in Bitcoin, according to a Camarasal study

“We are concerned about crypto ATMs operating in the UK and will therefore be contacting operators to direct them to shut down machines or face further action,” the FCA warned.

As detailed by the UK’s financial regulator recently published list of unlisted crypto companies that may continue to do business, a recent assessment found that 110 are no longer operating.

The FCA also warns consumers about the risks of crypto assets and that they may not even lose a lot of money, but all their money if they invest in them.

“We regularly warn consumers that crypto assets are unregulated and high risk, which means people are very unlikely to have any protection in the event something goes wrong, so people should be prepared to lose all their money if they decide to invest in them.”

Salvadorans haven’t felt the “gain” of Bitcoin in their pockets in the last six months

Warning

In El Salvador, although Bitcoin has been legal tender since September 7, 2021 and there are several ATMs operating in different parts of the region, residents know very little about how it works and whether their money in Bitcoin is supported or not, according to a poll conducted by Diario. de Hoy on various occasions.
However, in the existing registry of Bitcoin Service Providers on El Salvador’s Central Reserve Bank (BCR) portal there are at least 45 cryptocurrency providers, according to which state financial entities can operate in the country.

As defined by BCR: “The registration of a Bitcoin Service Provider is made as provided for in Article 3 of the Bitcoin Act Regulations, as one of the requirements to operate. Because of the things mentioned above, the consequences are determined by the legal provisions, namely that after the required formalities have been fulfilled, the applicant will be registered in the Register”, said the instructions.

At the top of the list of registered Bitcoin service providers in El Salvador are Chivo, SA de CV; companies like Paysea Global SA de CV followed suit; Realtime, Variable Capital Limited and others.