Kraken co-CEO warns UK rules meant to protect users now punish them: FT

Arjun Sethi, the co-CEO of major crypto exchange Kraken, criticized the United Kingdom’s crypto regulations, which he said hinder services for their customers.

In an with the Financial Times, Sethi said that “in the UK today, if you go to any crypto website, including Kraken’s, you see the equivalent to a cigarette box.” He suggested that the disclaimers have a significant impact on customer experience.

Sethi suggested that disclosures slow users down and that, because of the importance of speed in crypto trading, “it’s worse for customers.” He concluded that “disclosures are important […] but if there are 14 steps, it’s worse.”

The UK Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) updated financial promotion regime . It introduced a “cooling-off” period for first-time crypto investors and required firms to assess whether users had sufficient knowledge and experience before allowing them to trade.

Sethi said that the rules may prompt customers to avoid investing in crypto altogether, potentially leading to missed potential gains. The FCA defended the rules, noting that “some consumers may make an informed decision that investing in crypto is not right for them — that is our rules working as intended.”

Related:

The UK is slowly opening to crypto

Despite frustrations with the FCA, the UK appears to be moving toward a broader alignment with the United States on digital-asset oversight.

Lisa Cameron, a former UK member of Parliament and founder of the UK-US Crypto Alliance, said she believed a joint “was in development to align their crypto markets.

She came to this conclusion after discussion with US senators and regulators and expects the sandbox’s purpose to be to “iron out some of this in terms of passporting” for crypto licenses between the UK and the US.

On Monday, the Bank of England  proposing a regulatory framework for . The new legislation focuses on sterling-denominated “systemic stablecoins,” which are widely used in payments, similar to .

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UK looks to the US for example on crypto

A crypto collaboration between the UK and the US is not a new phenomenon. September reports noted that Treasury authorities in the US and UK  to explore “short-to-medium term collaboration on digital assets.” Also in September, UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent discussed how the two nations could .

September also saw UK trade groups  technology in a technology collaboration with the US program known as “Tech Bridge.” A joint letter by the organization warned that “excluding digital assets from the UK-US Tech Bridge would be a missed opportunity,” and that it “risks leaving Britain on the sidelines.”

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