FCA Launched 87 Investigations Against Crypto Business In 12 Months

FCA launched 87 investigations against crypto business over the past 12 months according to the reports that we have in the blockchain news today.

According to The Telegraph, the FCA launched more than 87 investigations and this figure represents a 74 percent increase from the number of inquiries recorded between October 2017 and October 2018. These investigations range from early-stage inquiries to full-on law enforcement action and with the regulatory scrutiny that comes as the FCA says, the cryptocurrency and forex scams will hopefully decrease. The cryptocurrency scams managed to steal more than $33 million from unsuspecting victims over the past year. For the FCA, the increase in regulatory scrutiny is part of the efforts to combat the schemes that guarantee the quick-fortune scams and given the growing popularity of the virtual currencies, the internet con artists are reportedly still choosing cryptocurrency scams.

Some of the scams involve fake endorsements of investment programs by well-known public figures. Cryptocurrencies are still unregulated in the United Kingdom and the victims of crypto scams were not covered by any government-enacted consumer protection methods and programs. While the FCA still manages to make bigger pressure on the industry, some of the stakeholders say that these actions will benefit the market overall. When the bad actors get taken away, the consumers will have much bigger confidence in legitimate crypto investment avenues. The UK regulatory agency maintains a list of authorized crypto businesses and the regulatory body says the investors will do well to verify all crypto investment schemes against the list to avoid more victims to crypto scams.

The news on the increasing FCA crypto scrutiny comes after the regulatory body planned to move forward with the ban on crypto derivatives. As previously reported by the latest cryptocurrency news today, it seems that the regulator finished the deliberations on the matter and may call for a ban in 2020. According to the reports, the FCA considers the UK investors are now really well informed about the crypto industry and considers crypto derivatives trading being risky. The FCA and several other regional regulatory bodies have expressed much bigger pressure on crypto businesses.