Odaily News: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK has announced that all cryptocurrency companies marketing to UK users must comply with its financial promotions regime by October 2023.

In a letter dated July 4th, the FCA stated that starting from October 8th, companies operating in the UK will only have four legal avenues to promote cryptocurrency assets, in order to comply with the FCA's regulations. These legal avenues include having authorization from relevant authorities, promotions created by FCA-registered companies, or promotions qualified for exemption under the UK Financial Services and Markets Act.

According to the FCA, promotional activities include "websites, mobile applications, social media posts, and online advertisements" that "have an impact in the UK," and are not limited to companies headquartered in the UK. Jayson Probin, the FCA's Head of Cryptocurrency Promotions, stated in a LinkedIn post on July 4th that non-compliant companies may face criminal charges. (Cointelegraph)

On June 9th, Matthew Long, the FCA's Director of Payments and Crypto-assets, stated that after the FCA's new regulations come into effect, the promotion of digital assets through free NFTs or cryptocurrencies via airdrops will be prohibited. These free NFTs and airdrops could lead consumers to purchase cryptocurrencies that they later realize may have issues. Airdrops and NFTs themselves will not be banned, only promotional activities involving airdrops will be prohibited.

According to documents released by the FCA on Thursday, the strict cryptocurrency financial promotion rules in the UK will go into effect on October 8th. Under these rules, cryptocurrencies will be classified as "restricted retail investments" and cryptocurrency advertisements will be required to have clear risk warnings. More importantly, the promotion of public investment in cryptocurrencies will be prohibited.