Coinpass has been granted approval as a registered cryptoassets firm with the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), a financial watchdog that has banned crypto CFD products for retail customers earlier this year.
Jeff Hancock, Chief Executive Officer of coinpass, commented: “We’re exceptionally pleased to be among one of the first UK based cryptocurrency Trading Exchanges for retail investors and businesses to be fully registered with the Financial Conduct Authority as a crypto-asset firm.
“We understand and fully support that to evolve the cryptocurrency market to be more inclusive and attractive to a larger number of users, we would require regulatory guidelines for exchanges and gateways. The UK is a financial hub for investment and fintech and it has the potential, under the FCA’s guidance, to be a world leader in cryptocurrency regulation. With this registration, I am exceptionally bullish on the future for crypto in the United Kingdom and proud of our achievement”.
Registering with the FCA is a testament to anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC) processes in place. Otherwise, the regulator wouldn’t allow the registry the same way it didn’t allow Binance, for now at least.
Before the introduction of the mandatory registration, UK investors and traders in the cryptocurrency market were exposed to potential money laundering, loss of funds, and poor customer service by using offshore unregistered exchanges to invest in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
This has led many UK banks to oppose cryptocurrency transactions from client accounts due to the jurisdiction of certain exchanges or the source of funds when trying to liquidate cryptoassets holdings. The Barclays-Binance dispute is an example of that.
Cryptoasset firms were ordered to adhere to Anti-Money Laundering guidelines, regulations, and policies that ensured a stronger ecosystem for investors in the United Kingdom.
Coinpass has recently gone live with its new crypto trading platform, supporting the trading of British Pound (GBP), European Euro (EUR), Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Polkadot (DOT), Chainlink (LINK) and Stellar (XLM).
The platform will soon add crypto-crypto markets for BTC and ETH, more alt-tokens vs fiat currencies markets, as well as more alt-tokens vs cryptocurrencies markets. The goal is to offer over 100 tradable crypto markets to its client base.
Top-tier security, deep liquidity, a large choice of tradable tokens, and excellent service and support, are the firm’s main selling points, along with fast client onboarding for both individuals and corporate entities.
The crypto operator was founded in 2018 and was voted Best Cryptocurrency Exchange Platform 2020 at CityAM’s CryptoAM Awards.
Rick Steves
Rick Steves has seen business and economics through many lenses. He joined the financial services industry in 2009, and has been a financial journalist since 2011. He holds a degree in Business Administration and has experience producing real-time news, from both buy-side and sell-side, as well as for retail traders, brokers and service providers. Steves' work has appeared in a variety of online publications including FX Street, NewsBTC, FinanceFeeds, and The Industry Spread. Rick has great interest in the dynamics of the trading industry. The never-ending clash between technology, economics, regulation, and more importantly, the people.
