The United Kingdom has banned the sale of derivatives and exchange-traded notes (ETNs) related to crypto assets effective January 6, 2021.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced on Tuesday that the move was mainly because of the “harm” it can cause to retail customers adding that the ban could save retail customers up to £53 million.
The ban includes the sale, marketing and distribution of crypto-derivatives and ETNs that reference “unregulated transferable crypto assets” such as bitcoin, ether and ripple.
“Significant price volatility, combined with the inherent difficulties of valuing crypto assets reliably, places retail consumers at a high risk of suffering losses from trading crypto-derivatives. We have evidence of this happening on a significant scale. The ban provides an appropriate level of protection,” the watchdog said in a public statement.
