UK Financial Supervisory Authority Issues Warning Over Cryptocurrency Exchange FTX

The UK financial regulator has warned consumers against dealing with FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange run by billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, in the latest clash between British authorities and offshore digital asset firms.

The Financial Conduct Authority said the Bahamas-based exchange appeared to be offering products and services in the UK without its permission, according to a statement on the regulator’s website.

“This company is not authorized by us and is aimed at people in the United Kingdom,” the statement said.

The move against FTX, one of the largest digital asset exchanges, comes after a heated battle between FCA and Binance as the UK ramps up its efforts to dominate an often unregulated world. Cryptocurrency.

The Federal Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) intervened against Binance last year, saying that its “complex and high-risk financial products” posed a “significant risk to consumers” and that the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange “failed” to respond to some of its basic inquiries, making it impossible to do so. . To oversee the sprawling group.

Binance, one of FTX’s main competitors, has pledged to become fully compliant with regulations and re-apply for supervision in the UK.

A spokesperson for FTX said they believe the regulator intends to warn consumers about a scam impersonating an exchange because some of the phone numbers on the list have been reported as being linked to scams.

However, the spokesperson acknowledged that the website identified by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) – ftx.com – It is the real website of the company. “We are looking into the matter and communicating with regulators,” FTX said. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said in response: “It is important that we issue the warnings as quickly as possible [we] We will issue updates if more information comes out.”

Cryptocurrency providers and wallets are required to register with the FCA to oversee anti-money laundering if their digital asset activity is “conducted by business in the UK,” according to the FCA Guidebook.

Financial Conduct Authority And other financial regulators around the world have faced a challenge trying to protect consumers and enforce standards in cryptocurrency markets, where many of the largest groups are located in offshore jurisdictions. Both FTX and Cayman-registered Binance have set up US subsidiaries to satisfy US authorities but offer services in other countries from their international base.

The European division of FTX announced this month that the Cypriot financial regulator has granted it an investment firm license, as the crypto firm pushes to expand across the continent. “Securing this license in the European Union is an important step in achieving our goal of becoming one of the most regulated exchanges in the world,” said Bankman-Fried, CEO of FTX at the time.

The FCA said UK customers dealing with FTX would not have access to UK consumer protections such as the Financial Ombudsman or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and were unlikely to get [their] Money back if things go wrong.”