Europe’s regulators are increasingly turning their attention to the fledgling crypto asset sector.
The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced on Friday that it has taken oversight of anti-money laundering (AML) and counter terrorist financing for businesses in the crypto sector.
New crypto businesses will have to start registering with the FCA before they can begin operations, and existing firms must comply with the FCA’s AML requirements.
Those requirements include identifying and managing AML risks, undertaking customer due diligence and establishing oversight processes.
Existing crypto companies have until January 2021 to register with the FCA.
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) said that crypto sector supervision is an increasingly important priority in a paper outlining its agenda for 2020 through 2022.
“The dangers of cyberthreats to the financial system as a whole and a sound legal framework for crypto-assets are increasingly becoming areas of focus for ESMA [along with other financial sector regulators],” the paper stated.
Among other things, ESMA said that it also plans to lead mystery shopping exercises on retail investment products, cultivate the retail investor base and promote sustainable finance, among a range of other initiatives.