UK Crypto Promotions Laws Hoped to Be in Place by Late 2023

The Financial Services and Markets Act amendment, which would enable the new rules, will soon be discussed in Parliament.

AccessTimeIconMar 28, 2023 at 5:01 p.m. UTC
Updated Mar 28, 2023 at 6:04 p.m. UTC
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Crypto promotion legislation is on track to be in force by late this year, the U.K. Treasury said in a tweet on Tuesday.

A draft of the Financial Services and Markets Act amendment was published on Monday. It will enable the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to regulate crypto firms under the existing promotions law set out in the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA).

The rules are aimed at allowing the U.K. government to try and safeguard consumers from "misleading crypto asset promotions," the Treasury said in a tweet.

The legislation also includes a limited time exemption for crypto companies that will allow those that are registered with the FCA the opportunity to approve their own ads as opposed to relying on others to do so. Some companies are authorized companies under FSMA, so can approve their own ads, but crypto companies do not fall under that umbrella.

An accompanying document to this measure estimated that if third parties were approving crypto ads, it would cost firms between 5,000 to 15,000 British pounds (US$6,168 to $18,504) to win acceptance depending on the "complexity of materials."

The Financial Services and Markets Act amendment will soon be discussed in Parliament.

Jack Schickler contributed to reporting.

Edited by Stephen Alpher.

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Camomile Shumba

Camomile Shumba is a CoinDesk regulatory reporter based in the UK. She previously worked as an intern for Business Insider and Bloomberg News. She does not currently hold value in any digital currencies or projects.


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