The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) warns that all crypto-ATMs in the United Kingdom are operating illegally, BBC reported. The regulatory body says they must be shut down.
According to the FCA, no companies offering crypto services in the country are licensed to operate a crypto-ATM and must be prohibited. Otherwise, the financial watchdog would take action.
Crypto-ATMs are similar in operation to regular ones. People use them to buy crypto by means of bank cards. There are currently as many as 81 crypto-ATMs in the United Kingdom.
"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,” the FCA said. The regulator has published a list of companies involved in selling crypto but not registered with the FCA. These companies have not been checked for money laundering. As a result, as many as 110 companies from the list have stopped selling digital assets.
