The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a statement condemning all bitcoin and cryptocurrency ATMs as illegal. In a recent statement regarding cryptocurrency ATMs, the FCA stated that all of these machines are not registered and therefore do not comply with UK anti-money laundering laws.
According to Coin ATM Radar, there are around 81 cryptocurrency ATMs operating in the UK by eight independent companies. In a statement, the FCA said that none of the crypto asset companies registered with us are approved to provide crypto ATM services, which means that any company operating in the UK is illegal and consumers should not use them.
The FCA also said it would individually contact all companies setting up ATMs in the UK to warn them to stop operating. All who refuse to do so will be subject to financial penalties. Only 33 companies in the UK are licensed by the FCA to offer cryptocurrency or cryptocurrency-related services to customers. However, none of these businesses have been licensed to set up cryptocurrency ATMs within the country.