UK watchdog shuts more illegal cryptocurrency 'machines'

FILE PHOTO: Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) signage at the British financial regulatory body's head office in London, Britain, March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Financial Conduct Authority said on Tuesday it has stopped 26 machines across the country for illegally offering cryptocurrencies, warning consumers they could lose all of their money.

A member of the public paid in a thousand pounds into a crypto ATM in Sheffield, northern England, in an attempt to buy cryptocurrencies, but no cryptocurrency or funds were returned, the FCA said.