The British government has pushed through its first licensing of a virtual currency company, underscoring its desire to make London a hub for the development of financial technology.
The Financial Conduct Authority, Britain’s top financial regulator, has granted an electronic money license to Circle, a company based in Boston that uses Bitcoin, the virtual currency, to enable consumers to make payments to other consumers using a mobile app, or “social payments” as the company puts it.
The regulator helped Circle get the license by putting it in the government’s Innovation Hub, which is one of several initiatives Britain has undertaken to encourage experimentation in the financial industry.
