Illegal crypto advertising remains widespread as the FCA struggles to crack down, data shows.
Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority has failed to remove all illegal crypto ads as nearly half of reported promotions are still online, the Financial Times has learned, citing data obtained through a Freedom of Information request. Between October 2023 and October 2024, the FCA issued over 1,700 warnings about illegal crypto advertising, apps and websites. However, less than 55% were demolished.
The report notes that the FCA has the power to penalize or prosecute companies that breach new rules that require crypto advertising approval from the regulator or an FCA-authorized company. However, no penalties have been imposed so far.
Instead, the regulator has focused on so-called “finfluencers,” social media influencers who promote risky financial schemes. The regulator filed criminal charges against nine people, including reality TV stars, and is currently questioning 20 others on conditional terms.
“Ultimately, unless there is a very real and present threat of legal action for both sides [tech] Platforms and authorized crypto asset exchanges that serve non-compliant ads are unlikely to see any change.”
Ex-FCA chairman Charles Randell
The UK regulator plans to finalize broader crypto regulations by 2026. As crypto.news previously reported, the framework will address issues such as market abuse, trading platforms, lending and stablecoins, with consultations starting in late 2024.
FCA Director of Payments and Digital Assets Matthew Long highlighted the need to tackle market abuse while building a fair and transparent system…
