Crypto.com secures FCA registration as a cryptoasset service provider

Digital asset exchange Crypto.com has received approval from the UK's Financial Conduct Authority to conduct "cryptoasset activities" in the UK on Tuesday. 

FORIS DAX UK LIMITED, Crypto.com's trading name, has been added to the FCA's Financial Service Register after meeting the regulator's anti-money laundering standards. 

In April the FCA issued requirements for crypto firms to meet the same anti-money laundering and terrorist-financing standards as other financial firms. 

Prior to Crypto.com's successful registration, the FCA has only approved 36 out of 248 crypto firms seeking registration to operate in the UK. 

The FCA's stringent registration standards come in light of the $14bn in illicit activities carried across the crypto space in 2021 reported by Chainalysis. 

Kris Marszalek, Crypto.com's co-founder and chief executive officer said that the registration markets a "milestone" for the firm. The UK represents a "strategically important market for us," he adds. 

This year Crypto.com has announced several key hires in the UK including a UK General Manager and a Global Head of Sustainability and ESG. 

According to research by Bankless Times, the UK has experienced a 650 per cent growth in crypto adoption between 2018 to 2021, with data from Chainalysis indicating that the UK accounts for the most crypto activity in Western Europe. 

On Monday, August 15, Crypto.com announced that it had signed a Pre-Registration Undertaking with the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) in Canada. 

This announcement came on the back of various registration successes across countries including, South Korea, Italy and Greece. 

"[It is] very clear that most crypto-native institutions understand they need to work within regularly perimeters of the major jurisdictions", Sui Chung, the chief executive officer at CF Benchmarks tells AltFi. 

Crypto firms across the space have been looking for regulatory approval, particularly after the collapse of stablecoin Terra in May. 

Crypto.com will now join an exclusive list of firms that have met the FCA's standards, including Gemini, Kraken, eToro.