UK FCA Appoints Binu Paul as New Digital Assets Department Head

• To legally operate in the UK, crypto businesses need to get FCA-authorization.
• Paul served as the Financial Markets Authority of New Zealand’s lead fintech specialist.

Binu Paul has been named the new head of digital assets at the Financial Conduct Authority, the primary financial regulator in the United Kingdom.

Previously, Paul served as the Financial Markets Authority of New Zealand’s (FMA) lead fintech specialist. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) confirmed that Paul has begun his post as head of the FCA’s digital asset section. Taking over for Victoria McLoughlin, who had been acting in that capacity since April, according to her LinkedIn profile.

More balanced Approach

A spokeswoman for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) stated in April that although the regulator had previously been mostly dismissive of crypto, it now hopes to have a more balanced attitude in order to assist the government’s goals to convert the nation into a crypto innovation center.

As of the beginning of the year 2020, the FCA was given responsibility for enforcing laws against money laundering and the financing of terrorism in the United Kingdom. To legally operate in the United Kingdom, crypto businesses need to get FCA-authorization.

If the Financial Services and Markets law passes, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) would have additional authority to regulate cryptocurrencies under the country’s current payments regulations. However, the bill’s passage is in doubt after the dismissal of Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng on Friday.

The tax cuts proposed by U.K. Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng in September threw financial markets into a spiral, prompting Prime Minister Liz Truss to dismiss him.

Kwarteng said it was an “honor to serve” in his resignation statement, which he shared on Twitter. Kwarteng’s replacement, former Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt, now controls the fate of proposed regulations to regulate cryptocurrencies.

Recommended For You:

United Kingdom Proposes Bill For Easy Crypto Seizures