UK Regulator FCA Has Issued Over 1K Warnings to Crypto Firms Since October

The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority has issued over 1,000 warnings since its financial promotion rules for crypto firms took effect last October, Lucy Castledine, the regulator’s director of consumer investments, told CoinDesk.

The rules require crypto companies to be registered with the regulator in order to be able to reach out to clients in the U.K.

“I think it is also important to point out that we will continue to act where we see firms acting illegally and to date we have issued over 1,000 warnings on unregistered crypto firms that are illegally promoting to the U.K. market,” Castledine said in an interview.

“So we’ve issued the alerts against those firms, and actually, our actions have already resulted in the removal of 48 apps from U.K. app stores, and we will continue to work with third parties, like social media companies, to try to get illegal websites removed and taken down as appropriate,” Castledine said.

On Wednesday, the FCA published guidance for registered firms noting both good and poor practice.

The rules require firms to take reasonable steps to establish whether a consumer is a restricted, high-net worth or certified sophisticated investor before communicating financial promotions.

Most firms ensured customers could self-categorise themselves properly, the report said. “However, we saw poor examples where firms are guiding consumers through the process by telling consumers what they need to enter to proceed,” the FCA said.

Read more: Why Some Crypto Firms Are Suspending Services in the U.K.