The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) plans to stop retail traders from obtaining loans to fund their crypto investments. The FCA is bringing forth a range of crypto regulations, including this added restriction. David Geale, FCA executive director, said there was an extensive range of opportunities for crypto investors and many risks. He said the agency was committed to ensuring crypto investment was done correctly in the UK. Geale rejected claims that he was hostile towards the crypto industry, and countered that claim by saying that an appropriate level of protection was needed for consumers. Geale believes that the crypto market is a high-risk category and that necessary protections must be implemented. The FCA is attempting to avoid unsustainable debt within the British public and believes that crypto could present an immediate threat to the UK economy if left unchecked. The problem, according to the FCA, is that loans for crypto could become unsustainable during a price drop. Many consumers could panic and withdraw their investments, losing a lot of money that had been borrowed in the first place. The loan ban could also include credit cards, because crypto investors may rely on credit to spend more than they can afford. In 2024, the FCA researched the crypto market and found that the leading method of funding crypto purchases was with personal income, with 72% of purchases according to their research. They found, however, an increase in credit purchases, from 6% in 2022 to 14% in 2024. The crypto market remains largely unregulated. The FCA and other regulators have noticed that crypto is not going away anytime soon, so there is an urgent need to integrate crypto within preexisting regulatory frameworks. Around 7 million people in the UK are estimated to own crypto, representing 12% of the population. The FCA has tried to warn consumers about the risks of crypto and the potential to lose all of their investment. According to the FCA, their actions show a sincere desire to protect consumers from risky assets and save the public time and money. The FCA’s stance on crypto is that investors should be prepared to lose all of their money. UK consumers, meanwhile, will still be able to buy stablecoins on credit, but only with FCA-approved exchanges. The FCA is concerned about the 14% of crypto investors buying on credit last year. This is substantial and could be more serious depending on the type of crypto these investors placed their money on. Cryptocurrency is a broad term that includes well-established tokens and scam ecosystems that prey on vulnerable investors. The FCA may also conduct tests for investors to see if they have good knowledge of financial systems. The FCA may also attempt to target staking, although it may struggle to regulate a decentralized market. They may ban banks from issuing loans for clients wishing to stake their tokens. This approach seems contrary to the American regulators, allowing banks to apply their risk management expertise to judge clients on a case-by-case basis. The crypto industry has criticised the FCA for being overly restrictive, only approving 51 of 368 firms applying for crypto licenses in the past 5 years. The public can comment on the FCA regulations until June 13.
