Employees of crypto companies start whistleblowing on their firms – 50 companies under investigation in UK
As the pandemic demise of crypto continues, regulators are putting more pressure on the swarm of cryptocurrency companies, most of which hatched back in summer of 2017.
As Telegraph.co.uk reports, not only do the UK financial regulatory body FCA is looking more into the branche, there is an increased number of whistleblowers from these crypto companies, reporting the shady business practices they witnessed on the workplace. There were no such reports in last year and the FCA received 7 of them this year.
FCA is currently conducting an inquiry into 50 crypto firms, a jump from only 24 they were looking into back in May of this year.
Andrew Jacobs, a partner at Moore Stephens, an accountancy firm, said: “The huge sums lost as a result of cryptocurrency prices falling this year will have triggered a rash of complaints to the FCA.
“Now that prices have collapsed, fraud is likely to be exposed, with greater pressure coming to bear on the FCA to ensure that this market can operate transparently and fairly.”
Cryptocurrencies are unregulated, although the Treasury, Bank of England and FCA have formed a “cryptoassets task force” to monitor the impact on the financial system.
In a speech this month, the FCA’s Christopher Woolard warned: “[Consumers] may buy unsuitable products, face large losses, be exposed to fraud, struggle to access services or be exposed to the failings of providers such as exchanges.”
October has been a wild ride for bitcoin owners: the digital currency began the month nudging an all-time high of $5,000 before losing nearly 40% of its value in a spectacular crash. Bitcoin did it again in November : He fell, and he did it dramatically. In the meantime, its exchange price is moving below the USD 4,000 mark. The Bitcoin price thus fell back to levels last reached in September 2017.
