The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced a ban on the sale of crypto-derivatives and exchange traded notes (ETNs) that reference certain types of crypto-assets (crypto-ETNs) to retail consumers. Firms who carry out marketing, distribution or selling activities in or from the UK of the relevant products to retail clients, will need to comply with these rules by 6 January 2021.
On 3 September 2020, Andrew Bailey, the Governor of the Bank of England, delivered a speech to the Brookings Institution regarding innovation in payments, setting out his view that innovations need to be underpinned by an appropriate regulatory framework to be suitable for use on a wider scale. In his view, stablecoins have the potential to be suitable for widespread use, but must meet the standards of other regulated payments to maintain consumer protection and promote consumer confidence.
The UK’s JMLSG has published new sectoral guidance on how cryptoasset businesses should manage money laundering risk.
On 20 July 2020, HM Treasury published a consultation paper proposing to bring the promotion of certain types of cryptoasset within scope of the financial promotions restriction. The proposed changes, together with those proposed in the Treasury’s parallel consultation on the financial promotions approval regime would result in a significant expansion of the scope of the financial promotions regime.