UK Financial Regulator La Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said that it will allow consumers to access negotiated tickets in exchange for crypto (CETS), because the guard dog aims to increase digital assets in Great Britain.
This decision means that the CETs could be sold to individual consumers rather than professional investors in the United Kingdom, provided they are negotiated on an investment exchange approved by the FCA (an investment exchange or a recognized LIE), according to a press release from the FCA on Friday.
FCA stressed that similar products are already available in other countries. The prohibition of the FCA on detail access to the derivatives of crypto-tassets will remain in place, while the regulator continues to monitor market developments and to examine its approach to high-risk investments, the press release said.
While regulatory regimes are implemented worldwide, the United Kingdom feels the need to compete, as evidenced by the British government’s consultations on crypto rules and recent comments from the Chancellor of the chessboard Rachel Reeves.
“This consultation demonstrates our commitment to support the growth and competitiveness of the UK crypto industry,” said David Geale, executive director of FCA payments and digital assets.
“We want to rebalance our approach to risks and lifting the ban would allow people to make the choice to find out if an investment also at high risk suits them, since they could lose all their money,” Geale said in a press release.
The existing financial promotion rules of the United Kingdom would apply so that consumers obtain information on risks and would not be offered inappropriate incentives to invest, in the same way as if they bought cryptocurrency directly, said the FCA.
“This evolution is entirely aligned with the United Kingdom’s ambition to position itself as a sophisticated jurisdiction in cryptographic space,” said Diego Ballon OSSIO, associated with Clifford Chance by email.
“It will not only unlock the exposure to cryptographic assets for retail investors, but it is reported that the United Kingdom is open to crypto. No more work is necessary on the prudential treatment of these assets, but we are certainly heading in the right direction,” he said.
