Overview
Arvin Abraham, attorney at law firm McDermott Will & Emery, said:
“In a reflection of both the increasing maturation of the crypto market, and the continued focus on the use of crypto-assets to facilitate illicit activity, the FCA has now published its long-awaited policy statement extending financial crime reporting obligations to crypto-asset businesses. While purists in the crypto market, who value transactions using bitcoin and other crypto tokens for their ability to protect anonymity may cringe, the FCA ‘s new policy statement is a welcome sign of the crypto-asset market becoming part of mainstream finance. For those in the crypto community who have been asking for more regulation to show that crypto-assets are a legitimate form of currency and means to do business, this is a sign of progress. But, whether the new policy ultimately enhances the crypto-asset market by promoting the safety of transactions and market actors or has a chilling effect due to limiting one of the fundamental drivers (anonymity) for using crypto-assets remains to be seen.”