Incoming FCA Chair Ashley Alder says crypto firms facilitate money laundering

Ashley Alder, who is set to lead the U.K’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), said his administration would take a strict stance toward crypto firms.

According to the Financial Times, Alderr said that crypto firms were “deliberately evasive” and facilitated money laundering at scale.

“Our experience to date of crypto platforms, whether FTX or others, is that they are deliberately evasive, they are a method by which money laundering happens in size,” said Alder.

Available data from Chainalysis shows that only about 0.05% of all crypto transactions in 2021 were associated with money laundering.

Alder added that crypto needs to be properly regulated to mitigate against risks associated with conflicts of interest of actors and unclear classification of crypto assets.

The incoming FCA Chair said that crypto firms looking to do business in the U.K. will face strict regulations, as his administration takes over in February 2023.

Alder’s anti-crypto stance is coming at a time when the U.K. is opening up its doors to become a global crypto hub. Prime Minster Rishi Sunak recently announced plans to extend the country’s tax relief package to crypto investment managers.

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