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Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), United Kingdom\u2019s central financial regulator, has issued a verdict on the presence of Bitcoin (BTC<\/a>) ATMs within the island country.<\/p>\n In what has come as a surprise to many within the industry, the U.K. authority has issued<\/a> a stern \u201cshut down or face further action\u201c order to operators of Bitcoin ATMs, outlining their intentions to contact these companies to affirm the notice.<\/p>\n The watchdog cited a lack of regulatory structure, the high-risk potential of fluctuating assets and the importance of upholding the principles established within the Money Laundering Regulations (MLR) as the primary reasons for the enforcement.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are concerned about crypto ATM machines operating in the UK and will therefore be contacting the operators instructing that the machines be shut down or face further action.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The FCA has granted registration approval<\/a> to 33 crypto companies since August 2020 under the MLR framework, the most notable of which being: Gemini Europe Ltd, Kraken\u2018s holding company\u00a0Payward Ltd,\u00a0Galaxy Digital UK Limited and, more recently added to the list on Jan. 14,\u00a0eToro (UK) Ltd.<\/p>\n Additionally, the FCA has offered\u00a0temporary registration status to 22 companies until March 31, 2022, at which time a decision will be determined on the validity of their application. These companies include the likes of\u00a0Blockchain Access UK Limited (blockchain.com),\u00a0Copper Technologies (UK) Limited,\u00a0Revolut Ltd and\u00a0Wirex Ltd, among others.\u00a0<\/p>\n Analytical data conducted by Coin ATM Radar indicate<\/a> that there are 81 Bitcoin ATMs within the U.K., operated by eight companies. The word presented by the FCA is that none of the 33 approved companies have filed appropriate documents or attained licensing status to operate Bitcoin ATM services within the jurisdiction, and therefore all other must be deemed as illegal enterprises.<\/p>\n Precedent for this ruling was established on Nov. 15, when\u00a0Gidiplus Limited, the Bitcoin-centric crypto asset automated teller machine (CATM) service, was handed a decision notice by the FCA which refused their application as a \u201ccrypto asset exchange provider,\u201d otherwise known as a Bitcoin ATM service.<\/p>\n