On 8 October in the United Kingdom, a new cryptocurrency advertising regime, proposed by the FCA, came into force. The regulator has already flagged non-compliant firms, and companies hurried to update apps and websites.
After the provisions came into force, the regulator обновило the list of unauthorised firms to “avoid”. The list was expanded by 143 companies, including HTX (formerly Huobi) and KuCoin. Crypto exchanges Binance and Coinbase were marked as undesirable as early as 2021 and 2022.
“We expect that companies, including social media platforms, app stores, search engines, domain name registrars and payment companies, will take into account the warnings we have issued and will play their part in protecting British consumers from illegal advertising.”
Under the new regime, any entity seeking to promote digital assets must be “authorised or registered with the FCA, or have their campaign approved by an authorised firm”.
Advertising materials must be “clear, fair, not misleading, accompanied by prominent risk warnings, and should not unduly encourage people to invest”.
The rules also provide for a 24-hour cooling-off period for new customers to think over investments. This means a user will be able to buy cryptocurrency only after 24 hours have passed since registration.
The FCA ban also covers various promotions, including referral programs and “Bring a friend” bonuses.
“Consumers still need to recognise that cryptocurrency remains largely unregulated and carries high risk. Those who invest should be prepared to lose all their money,” said the regulator’s representatives.
Non-compliance with the requirements is treated as a criminal offence and punishable by an unlimited fine and/or imprisonment of up to two years.
Trading platforms and other crypto firms have already begun adapting to the new legislation.
According to Decrypt, Coinbase and Revolut have notified their customers by email of changes, which include additional “risk disclosures” for crypto transactions and a request to update their mobile apps.
Binance запустила a dedicated webpage for UK users. The exchange also relaunched its mobile app, saying it complies with the new rules after the FCA’s recent refusal to register.
Representatives said that UK customers no longer have access to gift cards, referral bonuses, and access to the News, “Academy” and “Research” sections has been closed.
“Compliance with laws worldwide remains Binance’s top priority,” the company said in a press release.
OKX also said it had updated its internal rules. The platform now lists a little over 40 available tokens and added “clear risk warnings.”
However not everyone managed to prepare for the changes. In September, Bybit announced the suspension of operations in the United Kingdom. The company cited tightening regulation, and the firm had not obtained a regulator’s license.
In August, PayPal temporarily paused the ability to buy cryptocurrency for UK residents. Company representatives said they were working to comply with the new regulatory requirements.
As reported, Kraken, MoonPay, an infrastructure provider, the trading platform Gemini of the Winklevoss brothers, the venture fund Andreessen Horowitz and custodian Komainu have already received approval to operate in the United Kingdom.
In July 2023, Ripple submitted an application to the FCA for registration as a cryptocurrency company. The regulator also added to the register the Bitcoin exchange Bitstamp.
Earlier the agency said that out of 291 applications from crypto firms, only 38 were approved — about 13%.