UK Could Ban Some Crypto Derivatives, Says Financial Watchdog Exec

The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is considering a ban on some cryptocurrency-based derivatives, a senior executive has said.

Speaking at an event in London covering the regulation of cryptocurrencies, Christopher Woolard, executive board member and director of strategy and competition at the FCA, said that the watchdog has concerns that retail investors are being sold “complex, volatile and often leveraged derivatives products” based on cryptocurrencies with “underlying market integrity issues.”

He added:

“The FCA will … consult on a prohibition of the sale to retail consumers of derivatives referencing certain types of crypto assets (for example, exchange tokens), including contracts-for-difference, options, futures and transferable securities.”

Exchange tokens, he added, are the regulator’s “neutral” way of describing cryptocurrencies, which “utilize a DLT platform and are not issued or backed by a central bank or other central body,” and “do not function as money.”

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