TechFlow news, October 21 — According to Finance Magnates, Val Smith, head of payments and digital assets at the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), defended the agency's stringent cryptocurrency regulatory approach in a recent statement. She emphasized that robust standards are crucial for building a sustainable and trustworthy digital asset industry.
Smith stated: "Innovation built quickly on insecure, unregulated, and untrusted foundations is like a house built on sand—it is likely to collapse. Instead, we want to work closely with government, industry, and partners across other jurisdictions to develop a crypto sector built on reliable and solid foundations."
Since 2020, the FCA has received approximately 360 registration applications, approving only around 50. In 2024, just three entities have been added to the register. Nevertheless, the FCA stresses it has never directly rejected an application and takes financial crime risks seriously.
