FCA Warns on Cryptocurrency Dealers as Europe Officials Weigh Regulation

British investors have been warned not to take out any cryptocurrency-related services with Local Bitcoin Ltd and BK Coin, as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today said the two brands are not authorized to provide ‎‎investment services or activities in the country.

The warning comes as European finance ministers are scheduled to discuss cryptocurrencies next week to investigate their benefits and risks and consider how the new asset should be regulated.

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The U.K. has so far taken a more watchful approach. The FCA itself doesn’t consider cryptocurrencies regulated assets, but derivatives on the back of them fall under its powers of oversight. Last month, it named a small number of crypto-linked firms as having been accepted within its sandbox, which allows testing their solutions and business models in a live market but controlled environment.