UK financial watchdog ramps up crypto company inquiries

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), a financial regulatory body in the United Kingdom, has conducted 87 inquiries into cryptocurrency companies so far this year, according to a Financial Times report. This is a 74% increase in the number of inquiries the FCA made between January and October of last year. 

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The inquires the FCA has made includes both "early-stage scrutiny" as well as "full-blown enforcement investigations," according to the Financial Times. David Heffron, a partner at the Pinsent Masons law firm, tells the Financial Times that the increased scrutiny “reflects the FCA’s increasingly hands-on and no-nonsense approach to enforcing the law in the cryptocurrency market”

The Block previously reported that the FCA was stepping up its scrutiny of the cryptocurrency space. In July, the regulatory body posted two job listings for candidates with in-depth crypto knowledge.

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Steven Zheng is a researcher for The Block. He joined The Block in August 2018. Steven graduated from St. John’s University with a degree in economics. Previously, he covered blockchain and crypto at Radicle, a startup analytics firm. He also had brief stints at Cheddar, a media startup, and Bowery Capital, a venture capital firm. He owns bitcoin. Follow Steven on Twitter at: @Dogetoshi

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