Alerts Sign-up
Susie Violet Ward, a bitcoin journalist and financial analyst, has criticized the UK Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) cryptoasset policies, claiming they stifle innovation and drive bitcoin businesses offshore. Ward made this statement on X on March 18.
"UK regulators are driving bitcoin businesses away while other countries capitalise on the opportunity," said Violet Ward. "The FCA's blanket cryptoasset policy is crushing innovation, stifling growth, pushing companies offshore, and making the UK increasingly hostile to bitcoin businesses. Companies are scaling back or leaving the UK due to restrictive and unclear regulations. If this continues, the UK will lose its financial edge and risk global irrelevance as investment moves elsewhere."
According to Forbes, the FCA has implemented stringent regulations that categorize all cryptoassets under a broad 'restricted mass market investments' label. This approach fails to differentiate between decentralized assets like bitcoin and other speculative tokens, leading to regulatory uncertainty. Such ambiguity has compelled companies like PayPal, CoinCorner, and Skrill to adjust or withdraw their services in the UK due to excessive restrictions and unclear policies.
