Latest news with #AssetReality
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Could Bitcoin help Rachel Reeves fill the black hole in UK finances? Chancellor ‘could profit from £5bn sale' of seized criminal crypto cash
could use bitcoin worth more than £5billion confiscated from criminal gangs to help fund Labour's spending plans, it has been suggested. The Home Office and police forces are said to be working on a major seven-figure sale of crypto-currency seized from organised crime figures, with the Treasury hoping to benefit. There are also plans to develop a storage system that would allow the regular sale of confiscated crypto-currencies. It comes as the Chancellor is facing pressure not to raise taxes in her autumn budget, after Labour backbenchers nixed efforts to cut the cost of the welfare bill and watered down plans to means-test the winter fuel payment. The price of bitcoin hit an all-time high last week of £123,000 (92,0000), with the Telegraph reporting this would value a single stash of 61,000 taken from a Chinese Ponzi scheme by officials in 2018 at more than £5.4billion - far above its value at the time. Aidan Larkin, the chief executive of Asset Reality, said: 'There is oil under our feet in terms of digital assets, from an illicit perspective, that could have hundreds of millions of pounds coming back into the UK each year.' Ministers are increasingly seeing crypto-currency as a possible income stream. Earlier this month ministers revealed they plan to crack down on speculators who evade tax on their profits. Under new rules, holders of currencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum or Dogecoin will face fines of £300 if they fail to provide personal details to crypto service providers they use to make sure they are paying the right amounts to HMRC. The Government expects the new rules, which are known as the Cryptoasset Reporting Framework and take effect from January, to raise up to £315 million by April 2030. Any service provider which fails to provide accurate details about transactions and tax reference numbers will also face fines. Reform UK has recently pledged to cut taxes on cryptocurrencies and set up a 'Bitcoin reserve' if elected. Party chairman Zia Yusuf told reporters in may that a Reform government would reduce capital gains tax on assets such as Bitcoin to 10 per cent as part of a raft of reforms to how cryptocurrencies are governed. Mr Yusuf, who does not own cryptocurrency, suggested the cut could generate up to £1 billion for the Treasury over a decade, saying it would encourage more use of such currency and encourage people to move their assets to the UK. Cryptocurrencies currently incur capital gains tax of either 18 per cent or 24 per cent, depending on the rate of income tax paid by the person selling the assets. Mr Yusuf also announced that Reform would allow people to pay tax in Bitcoin and establish a 'Bitcoin reserve fund' to 'diversify' the UK's reserve holdings.
Scotsman
01-07-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
First asset recovery operating system registers with FCA
It allows Asset Reality to offer crypto custody services | Shutterstock Asset Reality, the first end-to-end asset recovery operating system, has achieved the milestone of becoming registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The seized asset company registered as a Virtual Assets Service Provider (VASP) with the UK Financial Conduct Authority earlier this year under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds regulations. It makes the Asset Reality platform the first to offer crypto custody services - and enables the brand to provide its critical virtual asset services to law enforcement and government agencies in the UK as a custodian wallet provider. They hope this will solve the operational and technical challenges that have long hindered global seized asset practitioners. 'We are delighted that Asset Reality have obtained registration with the FCA as a cryptoasset firm,' said Arun Srivastava, Partner at Paul Hasting (Europe) LLP. 'Asset Reality will be a key player in the crypto asset ecosystem and will facilitate its growth.' Asset Reality, is the world's first seized asset platform provides an end-to-end solution to support the seizure, management, and disposal of both physical and virtual assets. These can range from boats to bitcoin, Monets to meme coins, and private jets to privacy coins. Until now, asset recovery practitioners have been forced to create their own end-to-end solution for asset recovery by combining spreadsheets, hardware wallets, exchanges, and consultants. This has led to inefficiency and risk in the asset recovery process. But Asset Reality offers a unified Platform, built for government and enforcement agencies with 100 per cent asset coverage, by combining seizure support, asset inventory and management, virtual asset custody, valuation, liquidation and compliance workflows into a single secure asset recovery operating system. This solution makes it easier to seize all asset types in a timely manner. Asset Reality have become the first asset recovery platform to register with the FCA | Shutterstock 'A significant milestone, not just for Asset Reality, but for the wider seized asset ecosystem' 'Practitioners have always struggled with disjointed tools, managing spreadsheets, selecting wallets and exchanges, sourcing technical specialists and valuers, and navigating complex court processes without dedicated support,' said Aidan Larkin, co-founder and CEO of Asset Reality. 'We've brought all that together in one purpose-built Platform for the first time, making seized asset management smarter, safer, and more accountable. 'We've never had a regulatory penalty or compliance breach, something few, if any, in our sector can say. 'Our clients trust us not just because we understand their mission, but because we operate with the same discipline and accountability that they do.' This significant industry milestone underscores Asset Reality's commitment to upholding the highest standards of anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) compliance in the UK. It comes as Asset Reality implements robust AML and CTF controls, including risk management, client due diligence procedures, transaction monitoring systems, and staff training programmes which align with the FCA's expectations for cryptoasset businesses. 'FCA registration is a significant milestone, not just for Asset Reality, but for the wider seized asset ecosystem,' said Lynette Mapp, General Counsel for Asset Reality. 'It helps demonstrate how regulated infrastructure can support law enforcement, courts and public sector bodies dealing with complex virtual asset cases - while upholding the highest standards of compliance and transparency.' As the UK continues evolving its digital asset regulatory framework, Asset Reality remains at the forefront of compliance and innovation, leading the way in delivering secure, compliant, and scalable infrastructure to those responsible for handling seized and recovered assets. About Asset Reality Limited Asset Reality is the seized asset company building modern solutions for more effective asset recovery. As the first company in the world to offer a complete solution for both physical and virtual assets, we make it easier to seize assets. Asset Reality's software replaces outdated and ineffective legacy infrastructures with a solution built to optimise the seizure, management and disposal of physical and virtual assets. For more information about Asset Reality, visit This article is produced by SWNS based on content distributed by GlobeNewswire.
Scotsman
01-07-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
First asset recovery operating system registers with FCA
It allows Asset Reality to offer crypto custody services | Shutterstock Asset Reality, the first end-to-end asset recovery operating system, has achieved the milestone of becoming registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The seized asset company registered as a Virtual Assets Service Provider (VASP) with the UK Financial Conduct Authority earlier this year under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds regulations. It makes the Asset Reality platform the first to offer crypto custody services - and enables the brand to provide its critical virtual asset services to law enforcement and government agencies in the UK as a custodian wallet provider. They hope this will solve the operational and technical challenges that have long hindered global seized asset practitioners. 'We are delighted that Asset Reality have obtained registration with the FCA as a cryptoasset firm,' said Arun Srivastava, Partner at Paul Hasting (Europe) LLP. 'Asset Reality will be a key player in the crypto asset ecosystem and will facilitate its growth.' Asset Reality, is the world's first seized asset platform provides an end-to-end solution to support the seizure, management, and disposal of both physical and virtual assets. These can range from boats to bitcoin, Monets to meme coins, and private jets to privacy coins. Until now, asset recovery practitioners have been forced to create their own end-to-end solution for asset recovery by combining spreadsheets, hardware wallets, exchanges, and consultants. This has led to inefficiency and risk in the asset recovery process. But Asset Reality offers a unified Platform, built for government and enforcement agencies with 100 per cent asset coverage, by combining seizure support, asset inventory and management, virtual asset custody, valuation, liquidation and compliance workflows into a single secure asset recovery operating system. This solution makes it easier to seize all asset types in a timely manner. Asset Reality have become the first asset recovery platform to register with the FCA | Shutterstock 'A significant milestone, not just for Asset Reality, but for the wider seized asset ecosystem' 'Practitioners have always struggled with disjointed tools, managing spreadsheets, selecting wallets and exchanges, sourcing technical specialists and valuers, and navigating complex court processes without dedicated support,' said Aidan Larkin, co-founder and CEO of Asset Reality. 'We've brought all that together in one purpose-built Platform for the first time, making seized asset management smarter, safer, and more accountable. 'We've never had a regulatory penalty or compliance breach, something few, if any, in our sector can say. 'Our clients trust us not just because we understand their mission, but because we operate with the same discipline and accountability that they do.' This significant industry milestone underscores Asset Reality's commitment to upholding the highest standards of anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) compliance in the UK. It comes as Asset Reality implements robust AML and CTF controls, including risk management, client due diligence procedures, transaction monitoring systems, and staff training programmes which align with the FCA's expectations for cryptoasset businesses. 'FCA registration is a significant milestone, not just for Asset Reality, but for the wider seized asset ecosystem,' said Lynette Mapp, General Counsel for Asset Reality. 'It helps demonstrate how regulated infrastructure can support law enforcement, courts and public sector bodies dealing with complex virtual asset cases - while upholding the highest standards of compliance and transparency.' As the UK continues evolving its digital asset regulatory framework, Asset Reality remains at the forefront of compliance and innovation, leading the way in delivering secure, compliant, and scalable infrastructure to those responsible for handling seized and recovered assets. About Asset Reality Limited Asset Reality is the seized asset company building modern solutions for more effective asset recovery. As the first company in the world to offer a complete solution for both physical and virtual assets, we make it easier to seize assets. Asset Reality's software replaces outdated and ineffective legacy infrastructures with a solution built to optimise the seizure, management and disposal of physical and virtual assets. For more information about Asset Reality, visit
