Investigations into cryptocurrency surges amid regulator crack down

The number of FCA investigations into cryptocurrency businesses has surged over the past year as the regulator continues its crackdown on the controversial digital currencies.

The number of live investigations by the financial regulator into the sector rocketed 74% to 87 as of September 2019, up from 50 a year earlier, according to new research by international law firm Pinsent Masons.

Huge fortunes have already been made by early investors in cryptocurrency, but the law firm warned this makes private clients particularly susceptible to fraudsters targeting the industry.

The FCA has previously warned that fraud is a significant issue in the sector, with estimates from the watchdog suggesting individuals in the UK lost £27 million to cryptocurrency and forex investment scams in the past year.

While increasing investigations into potentially fraudulent businesses, the FCA has also increased with legitimate cryptocurrency firms to assess whether their products require…