The UK financial regulator has issued a final decision banning or only offering to trade selected cryptocurrency assets.
The British Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is responsible for supervising and regulating the financial market, has defined specific cryptocurrency assets as inadmissible for offering to small savers. These are mainly cryptocurrency derivatives.
The FCA considers them inappropriate due to the potential damage that retail clients of banks and other financial institutions may suffer as a result of trading in them. In the FCA’s view, selected cryptocurrency assets cannot be reliably offered in retail finance, as this type of trading requires an extraordinary awareness of how cryptocurrency derivatives work.
However, the ban does not only apply to the retail of selected cryptocurrency assets, but also to their marketing. According to the head of the strategy and competition department at the FCA, Sheldon Mills, the approved ban reflects how serious the office sees a serious threat in selected cryptocurrency assets. “Consumer protection is paramount,” said Mills. The ban takes effect on January 6 next year.
