Financial Regulators In The UK Advises Banks on How to Manage Crypto Assets

For several weeks, the regulatory authorities in various countries have stipulated certain measures and conditions that crypto platforms must pass before they can fully operate in the country. The latest of them is the SEC in Thailand, the regulatory body in the country has reversed the ban that was placed on ICO's and has also released a comprehensive license list that each crypto platform seeking to operate in the country must also do. Asides that, several warning and advise has been given to financial institutions in the country. The regulatory body in the UK has also advised financial institutions on how best they can manage clients that trade crypto assets. This advice was issued on the official website of the FCA (Federal Conduct Authority).
Megan Butler and Jonathan Davidson who are the Executive Directors of the Supervision Department of the regulatory body has stated that banks and financial institutions in the country should apply an individual approach to investors or clients that deal with crypto assets or tokens as the risks associated with the trading of cryptos might vary based on the type of business relationship the investor has. They went further to state the financial institutions and banks do not have to follow the same approach to all clients and investors that are dealing with crypto assets, the reason being that the risk involved in the trading of these crypto assets might vary based on the individual in question.
The FCA went further to stipulate what has been referred to as "good practice" measures that should be taken by these banks to ensure that they avoid the risk of clients who make use of these crypto assets for various criminal activities. The regulatory body advised these banks to train or educate their staff about the various crypto assets that are available so that they would be able to identify the risk involved in the trading of these crypto assets. The FCA went further to advise these banks to carry out various activities with clients or customers that deal with cryptocurrencies to ensure that they understand the nature of their business so that they would be able to have an individual approach.
The statement had the FCA stress the fact that cryptocurrencies might be used for various non-criminal activities like speculative investments and technological developments. The FCA also listed some of the attributes that these banks must watch out for, the statement released tagged it "high-risk indicators". One of these indicators is that of clients or customers processing very large amounts of ICO (Initial Coin Offering) tokens, another indicator is that of making use of state-issued crypto assets. To explain the listed indicators, the regulatory body clearly explained that ICO's are high-risk projects and that anyone can easily fall victim to the fraudulent ones. To explain the second indicator, the FCA stated that state-issued crypto assets are designed in such a way that they are able to evade financial sanctions.