A resident of Scotland’s county Lanarkshire was left with a £150,000 debt (almost $190,000) after falling victim to a cryptocurrency fraud. She is now forced to sell her home to avoid additional financial issues. The woman sought support from Advice Direct Scotland and the local police, but the entities could not help her retrieve the...Read More
On April 12, Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, stated during a press conference at the Institute of International Finance in Washington that stablecoins should be regulated in the same way as fiat money. According to Bailey, stablecoins lack an “assured value,” one of the main characteristics that people look for when investing...Read More
The number of countries approving different types of bitcoin futures trading continues to increase, with the UK being the latest example. The London Stock Exchange Group has tapped Global Futures Options to start offering the nation’s first regulated trading clearing in bitcoin index futures and options derivatives. Although the exact date of the product launch...Read More
Crypto firms in the United Kingdom are struggling to obtain banking services, Bloomberg reported Sunday, citing multiple sources. Local crypto executives expressed frustration with rejected applications, frozen bank accounts, and overwhelming paperwork. The situation was exacerbated by the departure of United States-based lenders Silvergate Capital, Signature Bank, and Silicon Valley Banks. Banking Restrictions Hinder Crypto...Read More
The United Kingdom has dropped its plans to launch a government-backed non-fungible token (NFT) aimed at enhancing the country’s approach to crypto assets. Andrew Griffith, Economic Secretary of the Treasury, disclosed to Parliament that the Royal Mint, tasked with creating the NFT, would not proceed with the plan but would keep the proposal under review....Read More
The intercontinental political forum consisting of the seven biggest economies in the world (better known as the G7) is reportedly willing to implement rigid rules on the cryptocurrency industry after the numerous negative events which took place recently. The final version of the framework should be ready by July this year, while the nations will...Read More
The London-based cryptocurrency platform – Luno – announced that its long-reigning CEO Marcus Swanepoel will step down from his post to become an Executive Chairman. James Lanigan, who previously served as the firm’s Chief Operating Officer, will replace him. The new boss will aim to raise funds from new investors (other than DCG) and prepare...Read More
Popular UK-based financial institution National Westminster Bank (NatWest) has restricted the funds its customers can spend on crypto purchases to reduce their exposure to the volatile asset class. According to a Bloomberg report, NatWest account holders now have a transfer limit of £1,000 ($1,215) per day or £5,000 ($6,090) every 30 days into crypto exchanges....Read More
HSBC Holdings – the largest banking institution in the United Kingdom – will reportedly purchase Silicon Valley Bank UK Limited (SVB UK) for £1 ($1.20). Silicon Valley Bank made the headlines last week, revealing liquidity issues and balance sheet holes. This triggered huge panic among venture capital firms, who reportedly advised investors to withdraw their...Read More
The London-based fintech company that allows cryptocurrency trading – Revolut – saw a 33% spike in its revenue in 2022, said the firm’s CFO. Its positive results come in spite of the crypto market decline last year and the overall unfavorable macroeconomic conditions. A ‘Strong Momentum’ Mikko Salovaara – Revolut’s CFO – revealed to Reuters that...Read More
HSBC, Nationwide Building Society, and other banking heavyweights in the UK are reportedly implementing a new set of restricting rules aimed at purchasing cryptocurrency. The move comes amid a chaotic year for the crypto industry, which witnessed the failure of several industry giants. Same Old Song According to a Bloomberg coverage, the biggest banking institution...Read More
The United Kingdom’s crypto and fintech industries saw investment dry up in the latter half of 2022 amid a combination of turbulent macroeconomic conditions and record-high inflation. Businesses in the region completed a total of 591 fintech deals in 2022, compared to 724 in 2021. The Fintech Trajectory According to Bloomberg, the data comes from...Read More
A British pensioner living in Nottinghamshire parted with $207,000 after becoming a victim of a bitcoin romance scam. The police managed to restore some of the stolen funds and warned people to be extra vigilant with online dating due to the rise of similar frauds. The Latest BTC Romance Scheme The Nottinghamshire police said a woman...Read More
Wybo Wiersma – a 40-year-old Dutchman who studied at Oxford’s St Cross College – will serve a 54-month prison sentence for stealing £2,156,000 (more than $2.6 million) using a cryptocurrency scheme. UK detectives linked the scam to the man who used the pseudonym Norbert van den Berg in his malicious website and university coursework. ‘Greed...Read More
According to an investigation by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism and the Observer, more than 168 shell companies in the United Kingdom are suspected of operating fraudulent crypto or foreign exchange trading schemes, around half of which are potentially linked to pig-butchering scams. In fact, these organized crime groups were found to be using the...Read More
The government of the United Kingdom is willing to strengthen the rules on the local cryptocurrency sector to prevent another adverse event like the FTX collapse. The recently-appointed Prime Minister – Rishi Sunak – is known as an advocate of blockchain technology, arguing the country should emerge as “a global cryptoasset technology hub.” People’s Protection...Read More
UK’s Charity Commission announced inquiring into a charity called – Effective Ventures Foundation over its ties with FTX. According to the official press release, the charity reported its association with FTX as a serious incident because the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange was its “significant funder.” The non-ministerial department asserted that trustees submitted an RSI and sufficiently...Read More
The London-based cryptocurrency platform – Luno – will reportedly trim the size of its team by over 330 people. It adds its name to the growing list of industry players dismissing staff due to the bear market, including Coinbase, Crypto.com, Bybit, Huobi, Gemini, and more. According to CNBC coverage, Luno will reduce its headcount from...Read More
Jo Johnson – the brother of the UK’s former PM, Boris Johnson – reportedly resigned from his advisory role in Bifinity (a payments technology company launched by Binance). The world’s largest cryptocurrency platform has had several brushes with British regulators over the past few years. Despite the tension, the company aims to become a registered...Read More
Global regulators have been railing against crypto over the past month, and their wild condemnations are becoming more extreme. The latest to make one of these ludicrous accusations is incoming FCA chair Ashley Alder. On Dec. 14, he told politicians that crypto platforms were “deliberately evasive,” facilitated money laundering at scale, and created “massively untoward...Read More
The latest bank to clamp down on crypto in the UK is Santander. Over the weekend, it was reported that the retail bank is planning to block real-time payments to crypto exchanges in 2023. The bank is claiming to be protecting customers from scams. The crypto blockade will include in-branch, mobile, and internet banking for...Read More
The United Kingdom High Court shut down the cryptocurrency firm PGI Global for allegedly running a fraudulent scheme. The company promised investors returns of up to 200% if they purchased digital assets through its platform, but consumers never received such profits. The Latest Crypto Scam in the UK? According to an official press release, the...Read More
A ray of light for the crypto industry has emerged amidst all the recent economic and political turmoil in the United Kingdom. Parliament convened on Oct. 25 to discuss a proposed Financial Services and Markets Bill for economic recovery following the country’s exit from the European Union. Several amendments to the bill were proposed, including...Read More
The person who stole unreleased songs by Ed Sheeran and other musicians has been sent to prison for a year and a half. He sold at least two of Sheeran’s songs on the dark web in exchange for bitcoin. Jailed After Selling Unreleased Songs The investigation began in 2019 when several musical agents complained to...Read More
The inflation rate in the United Kingdom surpassed 10% for the first time in the past 40 years. Local economists warn that the figures could rise to 11% in the following months, driven by soaring food and fuel prices. What does it mean for Bitcoin, though? Unseen Inflation in the Last 40 Years The past...Read More
Curtis Warren – a British drug lord who was found guilty of smuggling cannabis – is due to be released from prison next month. The authorities, though, will supposedly put him back behind bars for five years if he uses WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, or interacts with cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin. Strict Measures to Stay on the...Read More
The Canadian rapper, singer, and actor Aubrey Drake Graham (better known as Drake) bet a little over $600,000 worth of bitcoin on the English soccer team Arsenal to beat Leeds United and on FC Barcelona to win “El Clasico” against Real Madrid. Unfortunately for him, the club from the Spanish capital defeated its biggest rival...Read More
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...Read More
The top financial regulator in the United Kingdom – the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) – reportedly said that the cryptocurrency platform FTX does not have the necessary license to provide products or services in the country. The trading venue has been on a roll in the past several months, despite the market declines. Earlier this...Read More
Queen Elizabeth II passed away yesterday (September 8) at the age of 96, after wearing the British crown for 70 years and 214 days. The death of the longest reigning monarch in the UK’s history was met with sorrow all over the globe, but it also attracted the crypto community. Hours after the news, memecoins...Read More
