Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that applications to the Financial Conduct Authority for licences to operate in the UK by (a) crypto and (b) digital asset businesses are processed in a timely manner.

The Government launched an anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regime for cryptoassets in January 2020. This means UK cryptoasset exchange providers and custodian wallet providers are now in scope of the UK’s Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Regulations (MLRs) and must register with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Applications for registration are considered on a case-by-case basis. The length of time taken is a matter for the FCA and depends on the individual circumstances of the firm. To date, 51 cryptoasset firms have been registered with the FCA under the MLRs and there are 48 firms with current registration.