Illegal crypto ads continue to appear in the United Kingdom despite its financial regulator asking crypto projects to remove their advertisements targeting the country.
According to a Financial Times report, 54% of the 1,702 alerts issued by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) between October 2023 and October 2024 ended in illegal crypto ads being taken down. The report said the rest of the crypto-related promotions are still up.
The FCA has not yet fined companies that failed to remove crypto ads that violate the FCA’s rules. Regulations require digital asset promotions to get approvals from the FCA or an FCA-authorized business before going live.
The report said that despite the FCA’s ability to fine or bring criminal cases against violators, it has instead focused on financial influencers who promoted their schemes online.
Google to require FCA registration for UK ads
In line with the FCA’s rules on crypto advertising, Google Ads updated its guidelines to require FCA approval for projects targeting the UK with crypto promotions.
Starting on Jan. 15, advertisers offering crypto exchange products and services can only promote their ads if they have an FCA registration. The search engine advertising platform said it would allow ads for hardware wallets storing private keys for crypto, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or other digital assets if they do not provide buying, selling or trading services.
Google did not post any other requirements for hardware wallets. However, the company reminded its advertisers that they expect them to comply with local laws of any area they want to target using Google’s advertising platform.
Related: Barclays-backed Copper withdraws UK crypto license application
FCA warns citizens to avoid memecoin
One of the projects the FCA is wary about is a Solana-based memecoin project called Retardio. On Dec. 16, the FCA warned UK citizens to avoid dealing with the memecoin.
The financial watchdog said that the token project may be promoting financial services in the UK without the FCA’s permission. The regulator told consumers to only deal with FCA-approved companies to ensure they are protected in case of mishaps.
The FCA said that users who deal with unauthorized projects like Retardio will not have access to the country’s Financial Ombudsman Service, which settles financial complaints, or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which protects consumers when firms go out of business.
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