The UK Financial Conduct Authority, or FCA, has introduced marketing regulations for crypto firms. The development comes at a time when the UK is looking to strengthen its oversight of its operations. A major part of the regulation seeks unregulated firms not to promote illegal financial products targeted at the country’s people. A 2-year prison sentence has been laid out as a consequence if they ignore the guidelines.
A warning has been issued to firms after only 24 out of 150 responded to the guidelines. The objective is to bring more transparency, fairness, and accuracy to risk warnings. As for the response dates back to September 21, 2023, and there has not been another report showing a higher number.
OKX is one of the firms that has responded positively. It has agreed to tailor its promotions and offerings for the UK retail clientele. The first modification pertains to lowering the tokens from more than 100 to just 40. The second modification is incorporating a risk advisory banner on the official web page.
OKX has gone one step ahead and set up a dedicated channel, OKX_UK, to disseminate content that complies with the UK’s regulatory requirements.
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Founded in 2014, OKX is supported by over 200 countries. It offers 300+ crypto tokens and 500+ trading pairs. Support from so many countries signals that OKX functions in a region, keeping their compliance in mind. Features and actual offerings—a full list is available at OKX review – may differ from one region to another; however, the firm makes sure that it is following the law of the land.
Nexo is another firm that has adjusted its offering to suit the ideologies of the UK FCA. Earlier this month, the Swiss brand announced revoking cashback payouts for transactions on the Exchange platform and Card. This was done after the FCA sounded the final alarm.
Similarly, Binance has introduced a UK domain to deliver communication material effectively. Moreover, it has collaborated with rebuildingsociety.com to ensure that the marketing practices comply with the law. When customers visit the dedicated channel, they will only see products that are offered in the UK.
ByBit and PayPal have reacted differently. ByBit has suspended its services in the country, while PayPal has said that it is temporarily halting its operations. Both brands have yet to share a date by which their operations will resume functioning as usual.
ByBit has said that it is working tirelessly to align its operations with regulations to avoid any potential dispute that may otherwise arise. PayPal is expected to revisit the decision by next year.
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A representative from OKX has spoken about this. They have said that while some exchanges have decided to no longer offer their services in the UK due to new regulations, OKX will continue to serve customers with its crypto services.
