- Illegal cryptocurrency advertising remains widespread in the UK and the FCA’s efforts to crack down on it are facing major challenges.
- Despite the new regulations being introduced in June 2023, there remains a significant level of non-compliance, challenging the FCA’s supervisory powers.
- “We want to prevent consumers from being harmed by investing in crypto assets that do not match their risk appetite,” an FCA spokesperson said.
Crypto advertising in the UK is unregulated, with only 54% of FCA removal requests met; This highlights the ongoing regulatory challenges in the industry.
FCA’s requests to remove crypto ads remain unanswered
According to a report by the Financial Times, only 54% of the 1,702 warnings issued by the FCA between October 2023 and October 2024 resulted in the removal of illegal crypto ads. The remaining ads remain active, indicating a significant dimension of discrepancy.
The British regulatory body has announced that if crypto companies fail to comply in 2023, they will face sanctions such as prison terms of up to two years and unlimited fines.
The FCA said: “We will take tough action against those who advertise illegally to UK consumers. “This includes a variety of sanctions, including but not limited to being put on a warning list, taking steps to remove or block illegal financial promotions (such as websites, social media accounts and apps) and enforcement actions.”
In addition, only FCA authorized crypto promotions may be carried out in the UK.
Despite the FCA’s efforts, data shows that ad removal rates are extremely low and many illegal promotions are still in circulation.
Former FCA chairman Charles Randell stressed that without strong enforcement measures, the regulatory framework risks becoming ineffective. “Imposing fines on companies that do not comply with listing rules is essential to address the disturbing levels of non-compliance we are seeing,” he added.
Proportion of illegal crypto ads detected and removed by the FCA. Source: Financial Times
The latest development follows the FCA’s announcement in November that it plans to complete crypto regulation in the UK by the first quarter of 2026. Areas of focus will include tackling market abuse, regulating trading platforms, overseeing lending practices and regulating stablecoins.
Recently, Solana’s Pump.fun platform restricted access to UK users following a warning from the UK regulator. In December 2024, the FCA announced that this platform was not authorized to operate in the UK, therefore access to the website was restricted.
Similar to gasoline, Binance stopped accepting new users after its FCA registration was canceled in 2023. “This firm can no longer offer regulated activities and products but was previously authorized by the FCA and/or the PRA,” the FCA said.
In short, despite the FCA UK’s efforts to regulate the crypto space, the results of those efforts are far from satisfactory. The continued publication of illegal advertising on the market demonstrates the urgent need for the FCA to review its strategies to ensure effective compliance in the future.
Conclusion
The continued illegal promotion of cryptocurrency in the UK highlights major failings in the FCA’s regulatory oversight. Considering that only 54% of removal requests are resolved, fundamental questions are raised about the impact of current regulations. In the future, a stronger emphasis on liability and punishment may be needed to improve the effectiveness of the regulatory framework and protect consumers from harm.
