Over 60 crypto companies have withdrawn their application to do business in the UK as the country tightens regulation

• Over 60 crypto companies have withdrawn their application to do business in the UK.
• Registration data showed that around 64 firms have withdrawn their applications, up from 51 in early June.
• Beginning January, firms with business in cryptocurrencies have had to register with the FCA before operating.

Over 60 cryptocurrency-related companies have withdrawn their application with the Financial Conduct Authority to do business in the UK, as the country tightens its regulation on the space.

As Reuters first reported, registration data from the FCA showed that around 64 cryptocurrency-related firms have withdrawn their applications, up from 51 in early June.

By retracting their applications, these firms will not be allowed to operate in the country. Thus far, only six firms have registered while dozens are still being assessed but not yet deemed "fit and proper," said the FCA.

The FCA is the regulator for some 60,000 financial services firms and financial markets in the UK.

Beginning January, firms doing business in the cryptocurrency space have had to register with the FCA before operating.

But due to the overwhelming volume, the watchdog has had to extend a temporary registration regime due to a backlog of applications. Earlier in June, the FCA issued a warning to more than 100 cryptocurrency-related firms that were still unregistered.

On June 27, it banned Binance Markets Limited from operating in the UK without its express approval. Binance Markets Limited is part of the wider Binance Group, which operates the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world.

An FCA spokesperson told Reuters that Binance withdrew its application in mid-May and did not give further details.