FinTechs and cryptocurrency firms often have a bad reputation in terms of compliance. As industry disruptors, their entire purpose is to not tread the same path as traditional financial services providers, which has led to concerns they’re not following the same rules.

Consider the following recent enforcement examples:

Neil Hodge is a freelance business journalist and photographer based in Nottingham, United Kingdom. He writes on insurance and risk management, corporate governance, internal audit, compliance, and legal...