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The crypto industry in the United Kingdom welcomed the government's decision to introduce a tailor-made exemption for crypto firms seeking to advertise to local clients. But the fiscal regulator in this country is a little more prudent.
Within the framework of the government's plans to include crypto promotions in the scope of the regulations, a new rule in the Financial Services and Markets Act that goes through Parliament included restrictions on who can approve crypto advertising. The requirement would have meant most crypto firms “will not be able to communicate their own promotions, unlike other financial services firms” which are authorized “by virtue” of having other relevant permissions, the U.K. Treasury said on Wednesday, but the exemption (which is not in effect yet) announced on Tuesday means crypto companies can approve their own promotions for the time being.
Industry feedback clearly indicated that few qualified individuals would have been prepared to approve crypto announcements, and the plan of the government would have constituted an "effective ban", the Treasury said.
I believe this has been a great success for the industry. I lobbied for that, and I know that some of my clients did, industry organizations have and I think we have exactly what we requested," said Diego Ballon Ossio, A partner at Britain's Clifford and Chance law firm. Ian taylor, manager of the cryptouk lobby group and mark aruliah, senior policy advisor echoed that.
Not everyone appreciates the CRF carve-out. Given the growing importance of consumer protection by the Financial Ethics Authority (fca) "it is difficult to see how the regulator could ever accept this," said James Alleyne, Chief Legal Officer to Kingsley Napley, who has previously worked for the FCA through a declaration email.
A new set of highly anticipated regulatory plans released by the Treasury on Wednesday could make the authorization of cryptography companies by the Financial Conduct Authority (fca) mandatory. At the moment, businesses must apply to be registered as part of their anti-money laundering regime.
But the inscription is not really a stroll through the park either. The FCA has only approved 14% of the registrations it received from crypto businesses, and is known for being critical of crypto, unlike the U.K.’s Conservative government, which has repeatedly stateddesire to turn the country into a crypto hub.
We will publish our final rules for the promotion of crypto assets when the relevant legislation becomes law. We expect to be consistent with other high-risk investments," a CFA spokesperson said in an email. "Cryptographic assets are high risk and anyone buying them should be willing to lose all his or her money."
The government "made the difficult decision to listen to the industry," no matter what the regulatory body thinks, Aruliah said.
