The Financial Conduct Authority of the United Kingdom (FCA) intends in the foreseeable future to provide companies with access to an isolated technological environment in which firms will be able to test the functioning of their digital products at an early stage of development.
The relevant information was published on the official website of the British financial regulator last Thursday, July 20. The isolated technological environment, which allows testing digital products, that are in the process of being created, in a virtual dimension, and identifying shortcomings confirmed in the practical plane, was launched in beta mode in 2020. This environment is also available to data providers.
An isolated technological space provides companies with access to arrays of information, application program interfaces, and data protection tools. The autonomous testing environment during its existence in the pilot mode, which had two stages, was used as a practical plane for analyzing indicators of sustainable development, including environmentally friendly decentralized ledgers.
In this case, isolation means security. In the testing space, developers can study the features of the functioning of their products in conditions of active use and at the same time not be afraid that unintentional shortcomings will fall into the consumer dimension and cause certain problems.
The decision of the financial regulator on access to an isolated environment, according to an insider referred to by the media, provides for the possibility of reconfiguring the testing platform to support distributed registries and application options for digital assets. In this case, it means ensuring interaction between networks. Whether this probability will become an objective reality is still unknown.
Former British Economy Minister John Glen last year spoke about his vision of the concept of the existence of an autonomous testing space for digital products. He stated that in this context, the main effort is aimed at creating an environment in the United Kingdom that is favorable for the introduction of innovations in the field of cryptocurrencies. This position was supported by John Glen’s successor, which is Andrew Griffith.
Previously, the isolated testing environment was available only during pilot projects and TechSprints, in which representatives of the financial sector collaborated to solve industry problems.
As we have reported earlier, FCA Introduces Crypto Advertising Limits.
Serhii Mikhailov
Serhii’s track record of study and work spans six years at the Faculty of Philology and eight years in the media, during which he has developed a deep understanding of various aspects of the industry and honed his writing skills; his areas of expertise include fintech, payments, cryptocurrency, and financial services, and he is constantly keeping a close eye on the latest developments and innovations in these fields, as he believes that they will have a significant impact on the future direction of the economy as a whole.
