The U.K. government responds to ‘misleading’ cryptocurrency ads

On Tuesday, January 18th, Finance Minister Rishi Sunak published that cryptocurrency ads will have to go through closer inspection before posting. This decision was made together with the government of the UK and they plan to achieve this by implementing the same rules that financial promotions go through.

During the public announcement, Sunak stated that the purpose of this decision is to protect its consumers from misleading claims as well as support the innovation of the crypto market. Additionally, the Chancellor of the Exchequer also said ‘Cryptoassets can provide exciting new opportunities, offering people new ways to transact and invest – but it’s important that consumers are not being sold products with misleading claims.’

Furthermore, the government also stated that they will be initiating laws that will make minor changes to pre-existing legislation regarding financial advertising. They will now require firms to be permitted by regulators if they want to put out advertisements regarding investment products.

This decision was made after a significant amount of cryptocurrency ads has made their way through London’s streets and underground railway systems last year. Although these ads show the rising interest of people towards cryptocurrencies, the government also wants the potential investors to know that there is a risk of losing money. 

Moreover, the financial regulatory body in the United Kingdom, the Financial Conduct Authority or FCA warned the public of the risks involved in cryptocurrency on Monday, January 17th. They stated that people who decide to invest in this industry should be ready to lose all their money because of the high volatility of the crypto market. It also didn’t help that on the same day, Bitcoin and other tokens plunged down to 170 billion USD from the entire crypto market.

This cryptocurrency news isn’t new to the country though as just December of last year, Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority managed to ban seven ads that were believed to take advantage of the consumer’s lack of experience. Included in this ban were companies from the likes of Coinbase, one of the leading exchange sites in the market, and Papa John’s, the world-famous pizza chain.

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