The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is facing an uphill battle in regulating cryptocurrency advertisements in the UK. Despite issuing over 1,700 takedown requests in the past year, only half of the illegal crypto ads have been removed, according to a Financial Times report.
FCA's Efforts and Challenges
- Introduced new crypto promotion rules in June 2023 due to market risks.
- Announced potential penalties for non-compliance, including imprisonment and fines.
- Aims to protect consumers from unsuitable crypto investments.
Limited Impact and Next Steps
- Only 54% of FCA takedown requests resulted in ad removal between October 2023 and 2024.
- No companies have been penalized for violating the rules yet.
- FCA plans to finalize crypto regulations by Q1 2026, focusing on market abuse, trading platforms, and stablecoins.
Previous Actions
- FCA blocked unauthorized platform Pump.fun from targeting UK users in December 2024.
- Binance stopped onboarding new UK users in 2023 after canceling FCA registration.
Uncertain Future
The FCA's current approach seems to be ineffective. It remains to be seen if they will modify their strategy or intensify the crackdown on illegal crypto promotions.
January 2025, Cryptoniteuae