FCA outlines rules to prohibit sale of crypto-derivatives to retail consumers
The proposals reflect the inherent nature of the underlying assets of crypto-derivatives, which have no reliable basis for valuation.
In line with previous announcements, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today unveils its proposals for rules to address harm to retail consumers from the sale of derivatives and exchange traded notes (ETNs) referencing certain types of cryptoassets.
The FCA considers these products are ill-suited to retail consumers who cannot reliably assess the value and risks of derivatives or ETNs that reference certain cryptoassets (crypto-derivatives). This is due to:
- inherent nature of the underlying assets, which have no reliable basis for valuation
- the prevalence of market abuse and financial crime in the secondary market for cryptoassets (eg cyber theft)
- extreme volatility in cryptoasset prices movements, and
- inadequate understanding by retail consumers of cryptoassets and the lack of a clear investment need for investment products referencing them.
The FCA is consulting on banning the sale, marketing and distribution to all retail consumers of all derivatives (ie contract for difference – CFDs, options and futures) and ETNs that reference unregulated transferable cryptoassets by firms acting in, or from, the UK.
This consultation fulfils the FCA’s commitment in the UK Cryptoasset Taskforce Final Report to explore a potential ban.
The FCA estimates the potential benefit to retail consumers from banning these products to be in a range from £75 million to £234.3 million a year.
Christopher Woolard, Executive Director of Strategy & Competition at the FCA, said:
‘As with our work on the wider CFD and binary options markets, we will act when we see poor products being sold to retail consumers. These are complex contracts built on top of complex assets.
Most consumers cannot reliably value derivatives based on unregulated cryptoassets. Prices are extremely volatile and as we have seen globally, financial crime in cryptoasset markets can lead to sudden and unexpected losses. It is therefore clear to us that these derivatives and exchange traded notes are unsuitable investments for retail consumers.’
This consultation follows Policy Statement (PS19/18) published on July 1, 2019, which finalised rules restricting the sale of CFDs and CFD-like options to retail clients.
In January 2019, the FCA also consulted on Guidance on Cryptoassets to clarify what types of cryptoassets fall within its current regulatory perimeter, which closed on April 5, 2019. The FCA expects to publish its final Guidance on Cryptoassets later in the summer, and has reflected feedback to that consultation in its proposals for crypto-derivatives.
