Indholdsfortegnelse
UK’s Financial Watchdog Forced to Welcome Cryptocurrency Firms, Says Former FCA Chairman
Charles Randell, the former chairman of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), revealed that the UK’s financial watchdog was compelled to allow cryptocurrency companies into the British market. Speaking at a conference hosted by the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority, Randell highlighted the political pressure faced by the FCA, indicating the influence of elected officials on independent regulatory bodies.
Randell stated, “In the context of crypto, in my experience as FCA chair, was that there was a lot of political pressure to welcome firms, some of which are now under criminal investigation by the US Department of Justice. And all the evidence that we had at the FCA was that wasn’t a very good idea.”
This sentiment was echoed by FCA CEO Nikhil Rathi, who previously faced criticism for restricting Binance and issuing warnings about its supervision during a committee hearing in the House of Lords in November.
The FCA had imposed limitations on Binance, prohibiting it from engaging in regulated activities in the UK without prior written consent. According to Randell, this political pressure exposes the broader governance challenge regulators face in the country.
“How do you embed the safeguards against agency capture – either by the industry or selected industry interests, or actually by political interest?” Randell questioned.
During Randell’s tenure as FCA Chair from April 2018 to May 2022, several of the 43 firms currently approved to offer crypto services in the UK, including Bitpanda, Gemini, Revolut, and eToro, might have come under his oversight.
Crypto Companies Under Scrutiny
Randell’s remarks come amid increasing regulatory pressure on crypto companies worldwide, especially in the United States.
Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges globally, and its co-founder Changpeng Zhao faced allegations from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for operating a scheme to evade US federal securities laws.
Another case involves Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, who has been charged with fraud, money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to defraud the US, and campaign finance law violations. US prosecutors accuse him of misappropriating billions of dollars in FTX customer funds to cover losses at his Alameda Research hedge fund. Bankman-Fried has pled not guilty to the charges.
Meanwhile, the UK has been intensifying its efforts to regulate the digital asset sector. In June, the country passed the Financial Services and Markets bill as part of its broader financial regulatory reforms post-Brexit. The legislation grants regulators the authority to establish a tailored framework for the digital asset sector, supporting the safe adoption of cryptocurrencies in the UK.
Moreover, the bill empowers the Bank of England (BoE) to establish a regime for systemic stablecoins. In line with this, the UK central bank released a consultation response on systemic stablecoins last month, proposing co-supervision arrangements between the BoE and FCA.
