Company: ARBK
Filing Date: 2025-05-15
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0001104659-25-049311
Chunk: 19

Company: Argo Blockchain Plc
Filing Date: 2025-05-15
Form: 20-F
Item: Item 4
Chunk 19
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, non-recurring expenses to us, as well as on-going recurring compliance costs, possibly affecting an investment in the ADSs, our net income in a material and adverse manner. Failure to comply with these requirements may expose us to fines, penalties and/or interruptions in our operations that could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

Examples of overlapping, unclear and evolving regulatory requirements outside the United States include the following:

In Europe, at an EU level and in a number of EU member states (as well as the UK), other than in respect of anti-money laundering (as discussed below), cryptocurrencies taking the form of assets designed for the exchange of value (such as Bitcoin) generally remain outside of the financial services regulatory perimeter. Nonetheless, the regulatory treatment of any particular cryptocurrency is highly fact specific. At present, cryptocurrency mining activities are not subject to any regulatory authorization requirements with any UK financial services regulator.

Multiple regulators have highlighted the need for more stringent regulatory scrutiny for all types of cryptocurrencies and have taken legislative action directed at certain cryptocurrencies. In general, where regulatory action has been taken in Europe, it has typically been in response to concerns arising in relation to AML and consumer protection.

Under the EU’s Fifth Money Laundering Directive (MLD5), custodian wallet providers and providers engaged in exchange services between cryptocurrencies (referred to as virtual currencies) and fiat currencies are subject to registration with the relevant supervisory authority in their jurisdiction and must comply with day-to-day AML and counter-terrorist financing measures, including client due diligence obligations. Certain EU member states have implemented further measures in addition to the requirements of MLD5, including, (i) an order introduced by several French ministries in December 2020, which aims to ban anonymous crypto accounts and regulate crypto-related transactions in light of concerns for terrorism financing and money laundering; and (ii) strengthened anti-money laundering protections introduced by the Dutch regulator in November 2020, which were perceived to be targeting privacy coins as the protections impose client information and verification requirements. The EU Fifth Money Laundering Directive has been retained as UK law (subject to certain amendments) following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU and its requirements apply to in-scope firms that conduct business in the UK. However, taking account of relevant guidance as to the scope of the UK’s AML regime published by the UK Joint Money Laundering Steering Group, we do not believe that we fall within scope of the UK’s anti-money laundering regime as either a custodian wallet