On Oct. 8, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) imposed new marketing rules compelling cryptocurrency firms to promote their products and services clearly, fairly and transparently.
From banning referral bonuses to crypto firms implementing a 24-hour cooling-off period for first-time crypto investors, the stricter Financial Promotions (FinProm) regime aims to help protect consumers from high risks associated with virtual assets.
The cooling-off rule, in particular, presents an opportunity for users to discern crypto investments and strengthens the credibility of crypto and its community, James Young, compliance head and money laundering reporting officer at on-ramp firm Transak, told Cointelegraph in an exclusive interview. He added:
“The more regulations that come through, the more protection there is for consumers. I think the safer crypto is perceived and, therefore, adoption is increased on an exponential scale.”
However, considering the popularity of referral bonuses as a marketing tool across different industries, Young noted that other crypto firms would need more clarity on the kind of incentive schemes still available.
“It certainly did come as a bit of a surprise,” Young admitted. “I don’t think there are any other industries that the FCA has really imposed this very strict ban on like that… I’m not quite sure how the [cooling-off period and ban on incentives] marry up. I think it needs to be proportionate.”
The new regulations come as the U.K. emerges as an attractive global crypto hub amid the ongoing regulatory crackdown in the United States. But while some major crypto firms such as exchange OKX and payments platform MoonPay have already announced plans to comply with FinProm, the new rules proved to be difficult for some players given the global scale of their operations.
Crypto exchanges Binance and Bybit, for instance, have halted the onboarding of new U.K. users to their platforms. Services from both in the jurisdiction will wind down as they attempt to comply with the new regulations.
Young claims that the FCA soon realized that the new financial promotion rules were going to prove “very challenging” for firms to instantly implement in light of the other rules companies should comply with.
“[Before] we just had to comply with Anti-Money Laundering regulations to now these broader brush regulations around conduct and communication,” he noted.
In September, the FCA extended the deadline for U.K.-registered crypto firms to address technical issues related to the new marketing regime to Jan. 8, 2024.
Uniform crypto regulations across the globe
When asked about global crypto firms complying with the new FCA rules while ensuring consistent conformity and user experience in other jurisdictions, Young said that there needs to be segregation in legal entities to seamlessly pocket the different regulatory requirements, adding that “it’s something that the FCA called out as a challenge that they’ve identified firms facing, particularly those with complex group structures.“ This, he says, is because:
“It’s something that the FCA called out as a challenge that they’ve identified firms facing, particularly those with complex group structures… “You have some countries that are very tight, like the U.K., in terms of marketing of actual promotions, and others that haven’t even really considered what they want to do with crypto firms yet in terms of regulation.”
While acknowledging the hurdles regulators face in future-proofing regulations, Young called for regulatory uniformity in view of the different crypto regimes across various jurisdictions:
“Crypto by its nature is a global thing… I would very much like to see more uniformity across the globe from regulators in terms of how they look to regulate crypto… Secondly, I would really like to see more detailed guidance [about] how crypto firms are expected to comply with these new regulations.”
Calls for a wider global framework for the crypto industry are not new. On Oct. 13, the Group of Twenty (G20), an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 sovereign countries, including the U.K., unanimously accepted a crypto regulatory roadmap that advocates for comprehensive oversight of crypto within and beyond G20 jurisdictions.
While Young believes crypto mass adoption could be facilitated through regulation and trust in the industry, he noted that the FCA and other regulators should strike the appropriate balance between consumer protection and innovation.
“I welcome regulation, but it does have to be proportionate and balanced. It should not be designed or indirectly designed to drive firms out of the market. It must be a proportionate approach that is fair to the emerging nature of the market and where it is currently.”
The threat from Reform in Wales is “very serious”, the country’s Labour leader said as exclusive polling revealed Nigel Farage’s party is the first choice for Welsh voters.
Speaking to Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan said: “We think the threat from Reform is a very serious threat.
“I think it is important people recognise that things that we see every day in our lives in Wales may be snatched away from us, and the kind of stability that we’ve had for a long time.”
Image: Eluned Morgan spoke to Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast
Ms Morgan admitted “we’ve got a lot of work to do to get voters back” ahead of the May 2026 Senedd (Welsh parliament) elections – something backed up by exclusive polling that reveals Reform is beating Welsh Labour, who have been in power in the Senedd since 1999.
A More in Common poll for Sky News found 28% of people in Wales would vote for Reform if an election for the Senedd was called tomorrow.
That was followed closely by nationalist party Plaid Cymru on 26%, Labour with 23%, the Conservatives on 10%, Lib Dems with 7%, the Green Party with 4% and 2% for other parties or independent candidates.
Image: Eluned Morgan said she would never go into a coalition with Reform
Of those who voted for Labour at last year’s general election, less than half (48%) would vote for them again, while 15% would go to Plaid Cymru and 11% to Reform – although 13% were undecided.
A total of 883 people representative of the Welsh population were asked from 18 June to 3 July.
Last month, Mr Farage told an event in the steel town of Port Talbot, he would reopen Welsh coal mines to provide fuel for blast furnaces.
Image: Beth Rigby spoke to Welsh First Minister and Welsh Labour leader Eluned Morgan
Ms Morgan said she will not be “chasing Reform down a path… because those aren’t my values”.
“What we’ll be doing is offering a very clear alternative, which is about bringing communities together,” she said.
“I think it’s really important that we’re authentic and we’re clear with people about what we stand for.
“I think we’ve got to lead with our values so we’re about bringing communities together not dividing them and I do think that’s what reform is interested in is dividing people and people do need to make choices on things like that.”
She admitted “there is a possibility” Reform could be the largest party in the Senedd “and that is really concerning”.
Image: Nigel Farage in Wales
However, she said the way voting in Wales works means it would be “difficult for them to rule by themselves”.
Would she go into coalition with Reform?
“I wouldn’t touch Reform with a barge pole,” she said.
Sophisticated drones sending “overwhelming amounts” of drugs and weapons into prisons represent a threat to national security, according to an annual inspection report by the prisons watchdog.
HMP chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor has warned criminal gangs are targeting jails and making huge profits selling contraband to a “vulnerable and bored” prison population.
The watchdog boss reiterated his concerns about drones making regular deliveries to two Category A jails, HMP Long Lartin and HMP Manchester, which hold “the most dangerous men in the country”, including terrorists.
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Ex-convict: Prison is ‘birthing bigger criminals’
Mr Taylor said “the police and prison service have in effect ceded the airspace” above these two high-security prisons, which he said was compromising the “safety of staff, prisoners, and ultimately that of the public”.
“The possibility now whereby we’re seeing packages of up to 10kg brought in by serious organised crime means that in some prisons there is now a menu of drugs available,” he said. “Anything from steroids to cannabis, to things like spice and cocaine.”
“Drone technology is moving fast… there is a level of risk that’s posed by drones that I think is different from what we’ve seen in the past,” warned the chief inspector – who also said there’s a “theoretical risk” that a prisoner could escape by being carried out of a jail by a drone.
He urged the prison service to “get a grip” of the issue, stating: “We’d like to see the government, security services, coming together, using technology, using intelligence, so that this risk doesn’t materialise.”
Image: The report highlights disrepair at prisons around the country
The report makes clear that physical security – such as netting, windows and CCTV – is “inadequate” in some jails, including Manchester, with “inexperienced staff” being “manipulated”.
Mr Taylor said there are “basic” measures which could help prevent the use of drones, such as mowing the lawn, “so we don’t get packages disguised as things like astro turf”.
Responding to the report, the Prison Advice and Care Trust (PACT) said: “The ready access to drugs is deeply worrying and is undermining efforts to create places of rehabilitation.”
Mr Taylor’s report found that overcrowding continues to be what he described as a “major issue”, with increasing levels of violence against staff and between prisoners, combined with a lack of purposeful activity.
Some 20% of adult men responding to prisoner surveys said they felt unsafe at the time of the inspection, increasing to 30% in the high security estate.
Andrea Coomber, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “This report is a checklist for all the reasons the government must prioritise reducing prison numbers, urgently.
“Sentencing reform is essential, and sensible steps to reduce the prison population would save lives.”
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May: Male prison capacity running at 99%
The report comes after the government pledged to accept most of the recommendations proposed in the independent review of sentencing policy, with the aim of freeing up around 9,500 spaces.
Those measures won’t come into effect until spring 2026.
Prisons Minister Lord Timpson said Mr Taylor’s findings show “the scale of the crisis” the government “inherited”, with “prisons dangerously full, rife with drugs and violence”.
He said: “After just 500 prison places added in 14 years, we’re building 14,000 extra – with 2,400 already delivered – and reforming sentencing to ensure we never run out of space again.
“We’re also investing £40m to bolster security, alongside stepping up cooperation with police to combat drones and stop the contraband which fuels violence behind bars.”