The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is calling on investors to pull their money from cryptoasset firms that aren’t already seeking registration with the regulator.
The FCA said it will provide temporary registration to cryptoasset trading platforms that applied for approval by Dec. 15 but haven’t yet had their applications processed.
The temporary regime will allow existing firms seeking registration to continue operating until July 9, 2021.
The regulator said it hasn’t been able to assess all of the firms that have applied for registration “due to the complexity and standard of the applications received, and the pandemic restricting the FCA’s ability to visit firms as planned.”
Firms that haven’t applied for registration aren’t eligible for temporary approval.
“They will need to return cryptoassets to customers and stop trading by Jan. 10, 2021,” the FCA said in a release.
The regulator called on investors to withdraw their assets from firms that haven’t sought registration.
“This is because the firm will be operating illegally if it does not cease trading from Jan. 10,” it said.
At the start of 2020, the U.K. adopted registration requirements for crypto firms and began requiring them to follow anti-money laundering rules.