Revolut Greenlighted to Provide Crypto Services in the UK

The financial technology company – Revolut – received regulatory approval from the UK’s top financial watchdog (the FCA) to offer cryptocurrencies to local consumers.

A few weeks ago, the regulator argued that the firm needs to improve its internal structure and auditing process to obtain such a license.

The FCA Finally Said ‘Yes’

The European fintech unicorn – Revolut – has been on an expansion path lately, and the UK was one of the destinations where it wanted to provide cryptocurrency options. As usual, the British financial regulators were not open to the idea, saying the company needs to have “a back office like a bank” to win approval.

The watchdogs further claimed that Revolut’s auditing process has certain flaws that could cause risks for investors.

Nonetheless, the two sides seem to have reached an agreement since the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) added the entity to its crypto asset firm register.

Prior to that, Revolut offered digital asset services in the United Kingdom via a temporary license issued by the watchdog.

In August, the fintech giant obtained regulatory approval from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CYSEC) to expand its cryptocurrency options across the European Economic Area (EEA). Thus, it became the first entity to receive such authorization from that regulator.

It is worth noting that Revolut’s team sees the ongoing bear market as an opportunity to double down on its efforts. Not long ago, it vowed to increase its crypto-focused staff by 20% across the USA, the UK, and Europe over the next six months.

The move contrasts with the actions of leading exchanges such as Coinbase, CryptoCom, Gemini, Bybit, and more which dismissed some of their workforce due to the market decline and the investors’ outflow.

Separately, Revolut also announced that the beta version of its Web 3 wallet went live.

Not That Supportive Toward FTX

Despite giving the nod to Revolut, the FCA is usually not that friendly to cryptocurrency entities. Last week, it warned British consumers that FTX lacks the authorization to operate in the United Kingdom. Moreover, it claimed that the exchange “is targeting people” who are later unlikely to get their funds back in case of a financial loss.

A few days later, Sam Bankman-Fried (CEO and Co-Founder of FTX) said he was “surprised” by the warning since the two parties have been discussing regulatory requirements “for a while.” Still, he vowed to follow the necessary obligations and clear the tension:

“We believe we are in compliance with UK regulations but will as always act promptly if we receive any guidance from regulators.”