The Bank of England’s regulatory arm has raised its budget by $31.6 million, or 24.3 million Great British pounds, for the coming financial year. It said that costs have increased due to its growing responsibilities and preparations for “emerging risks in the financial system.” According to the latest business plan released on Wednesday by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), its budget for the 2022/23 financial year is $418 million, or 320.9 million pounds, an 8.2% increase from last year. The PRA chief executive Sam Woods outlined its plan for the year ahead saying it was: “Committed to keeping pace with …

Victoria McLoughlin, who has worked more than 11 years at the Financial Conduct Authority, is temporarily heading the digital assets department of the United Kingdom’s financial watchdog. According to a Tuesday post on LinkedIn, McLoughlin assumed the position of interim head of the department of the regulator’s digital assets unit in April after serving as supervision manager of crypto assets and digital markets for more than two years. The FCA veteran started working for the financial watchdog in 2009 as an associate, later moving on to oversee supervision of virtual asset service providers. “It’s an incredibly important time for the …

Robinhood, a major cryptocurrency-friendly stock trading app, is pushing global expansion by acquiring the United Kingdom-based crypto asset firm Ziglu. Robinhood officially announced Tuesday that it had signed a deal to acquire Ziglu, subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions. The firm declined to disclose the size of the deal to Cointelegraph. “Subject to regulatory approval, in the near term, nothing will change for current Ziglu customers. Longer-term, we’ll integrate Ziglu more fully into Robinhood, bring the Robinhood brand overseas and work to expand operations beyond the U.K. into Europe,” the spokesperson for Robinhood said. The acquisition aims to …

London-based cryptocurrency exchange Exmo is the latest crypto trading platform to formally suspend its business in Russia and Belarus due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Exmo is selling its digital asset business in Russia and Belarus to a Russia-based software development company, which Exmo officially announced on Monday. At the time of writing, the new owner and the size of the deal are not disclosed. “Unfortunately, we can’t anymore hold the high-risk part of the business, since a global group does not want to put the global expansion plans at any risk by keeping such high-risk markets in its structure,” …

The world of digital assets saw a significant rise last year. The total cryptocurrency market cap reached $3 trillion, making more people, governments and universities take a closer look at the asset class. The presence of crypto in the world’s major economies has created a big opportunity for diverse startups in the industry, leading to a massive demand for digital assets. This newly born market has helped develop more working and educational opportunities, among other things. Furthermore, some of the world’s top universities and educational institutions including MIT, the University of Oxford and Harvard University, have added pieces of the …

UK-based blockchain infrastructure firm Applied Blockchain has filed an initial public offering (IPO) application on Apr. 8 to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission to issue 3,236,245 shares of common stock onto the Nasdaq Global Select Market with the ticker symbol APLD. The firm currently operates a stock on OTC Pink — the lowest of three tiers within the over-the-counter market as per financial volume and the disclosure of company information required — under the same tag with share price of $18.84. The document of application was keen to emphasize that the public offering price would not be determined, …

The number of firms permitted to offer crypto services to U.K. residents under temporary registration status from the Financial Conduct Authority has dropped from 12 to 5. According to a Thursday update to its list of ‘Cryptoasset firms with Temporary Registration’, the United Kingdom’s financial regulator named CEX.IO, Revolut, Copper, Globalblock, and Moneybrain as companies in the crypto space allowed to operate in the country in addition to the 34 registered cryptoasset firms the FCA approved since August 2020. The FCA said on March 30 that it would be extending the temporary registration status for “a small number of firms …

The U.K. government Treasury announced on Monday, April 4th, that it has asked the Royal Mint to create one non-fungible token (NFT) to be issued by the end of the year “as an emblem of the forward-looking approach the UK is determined to take.” Chancellor @RishiSunak has asked @RoyalMintUK to create an NFT to be issued by the summer. This decision shows the the forward-looking approach we are determined to take towards cryptoassets in the UK. pic.twitter.com/cd0tiailBK — HM Treasury (@hmtreasury) April 4, 2022 The NFT was part of a series of announcements by the Economic and Finance Ministry to …

The United Kingdom's economic and finance ministry has said it intends to amend its existing regulatory framework to incorporate stablecoins used as a means of payment. In a Monday announcement, HM Treasury said certain stablecoins could potentially become “a widespread means of payment” for retail customers in the United Kingdom following a consultation with various organizations, universities and individuals conducted starting in January 2021. The U.K. government body said it intended to “take the necessary legislative steps” to bring stablecoins into its regulatory framework, “primarily by amending existing electronic money and payments legislation.” The finance ministry said amending its regulatory …

In her monthly Expert Take column, Selva Ozelli, an international tax attorney and CPA, covers the intersection between emerging technologies and sustainability, and provides the latest developments around taxes, AML/CFT regulations and legal issues affecting crypto and blockchain. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, also known as the UN Refugee Agency, nearly 4 million Ukrainians have fled their homes since bombs began falling and bullets started flying on Feb. 24, with most heading to neighboring Central European countries. At the same time, people around the world have sent over $100 million in crypto donations to support Ukraine, …

The Financial Conduct Authority, the United Kingdom’s financial regulator, has extended the temporary registration status of some firms offering crypto services beyond its March 31 deadline. In a Tuesday statement, the FCA said “a small number of firms” in the crypto space will continue to have temporary registration status in the U.K. “where it is strictly necessary.” The financial regulator reiterated that temporarily exempting the crypto firms from its previously announced March 31 deadline “does not mean that the FCA has assessed them as fit and proper” but included situations in which a company “may be pursuing an appeal” or …

Iconic former English Premier League footballer, David Beckham, has become a global brand ambassador for the DigitalBits blockchain, launching his own range of NFTs in the process. Beckham will release a series of NFTs and “other Blockchain-based digital assets” according to the brand ambassador announcement, with minting taking place on the DigitalBits blockchain. Excited to announce #DavidBeckham has become a Global Ambassador for #DigitalBits! Get ready to explore the world of #Blockchain, #NFTs and #Metaverse with Beckham. More details https://t.co/yafO7W2OuL Thread pic.twitter.com/n54BMeDsnE — DigitalBits (XDB) (@DigitalBitsOrg) March 24, 2022 Beckham said the NFT collections were an “opportunity to create new …