Paypal UK Registers With FCA for Crypto Services Restrictions

• PayPal UK is officially registered with the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority for certain crypto asset activity.
• The registration comes after the UK Treasury issued its final plans for future crypto asset regulation.

PayPal UK has registered with the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to provide cryptocurrency-related services in the country.

According to the website of the UK financial regulator, the registration became effective on October 31. However, according to a notification on the FCA’s website, PayPal UK will be subject to specified limits unless the FCA has authorized otherwise.

Due to the limits, PayPal UK will be unable to acquire new clients, and existing users will only be allowed to hold or sell tokens; they will not be able to purchase any tokens. They also state that the corporation is unable to increase its current service offerings.

Aside from that, the FCA established a list of prohibited services, which included enabling peer-to-peer transactions, participating in initial coin offerings, providing staking services, and engaging in DeFi activities including crypto asset lending and borrowing.

PayPal UK will also be prohibited from operating “a machine which [uses an] automated process to exchange cryptoassets for money or money for cryptoassets.”

Read Also: Coinbase Introduces Regulated Leveraged Crypto Futures for US Traders

Putting a Halt on Cryptocurrency Buying

Due to the FCA’s guidelines, PayPal halted the ability to make crypto purchases in the UK in August. This will be the case until 2024.

PayPal’s crypto registration comes only days after the UK Treasury announced its final plans for future crypto asset regulation on Monday. The recommendations explain the UK government’s aim to bring many crypto asset operations, for the first time, into the regulatory perimeter for financial services.

Companies that provide cryptocurrency services in the United Kingdom must be registered with the FCA and follow anti-money laundering regulations.