Here’s How Crypto Firms Are Bracing for New Rules in the UK

Coinbase, Revolut, and Binance have made updates to their mobile and web applications to comply with the new United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) marketing rules, which took effect on October 8.

Over the weekend, Coinbase and Revolut notified their customers via email about these changes, including additional “risk disclaimers” for crypto transactions, and asked their users to update the mobile application.

Binance launched a new dedicated webpage for UK customers. It resumed operations of its mobile app, asserting compliance with new regulations after temporarily halting operation through it, the exchange said in an email to its British customers.

Komainu, a digital asset custody firm in UK, backed by Nomura, CoinShares, and Ledger procured the license for operating in the region last week on October 6. Komainu provides custodial services to exchanges, financial institutions, and asset managers.

At the same time, some others like ByBit and, reportedly, Luno have decided to suspend operations.

PayPal has also temporarily paused crypto purchases for British users as it worked toward making the app compliant with the updated regulations.

This morning, the financial regulatory body issued alerts to 146 crypto firms operating in the UK warning that they are “not authorised or registered by the FCA.”

The public statement from the regulator added that it expects the firms to “play their part in protecting UK consumers from illegal promotions.”

[at-udni /]

What are the new FCA rules?

Earlier this year, the FCA imposed new rules that require crypto firms to register with the financial regulator and have their marketing approved by an FCA-authorized firm.

The new updates require exchanges provide fair warnings to customers about the risks involved in crypto investments.

The marketing material must be “clear, fair and not misleading” and include a 24-hour cooling-off period for new customers.

While the regulator extended the deadline for implementing the technically difficult features like the cooling-off period until January 2024, it requires the firms to adhere to the “core rules” from October 8.

Failure to comply will be charged with a “criminal offense punishable by an unlimited fine and/or up to two years imprisonment” for domestic and overseas exchanges operating in the U.K., the agency noted in a recent statement.