FCA Flags Huobi, Over 140 Crypto Exchanges as Unauthorized Firms for Trading

Jimmy Aki
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The United Kingdom’s financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has expanded its warning list by including 143 entities that operate as unauthorized cryptocurrency exchanges. Prominent platforms like Huobi and KuCoin are among those investors “should avoid.”

The warning list also suggests a looming criminal charge for non-compliant firms if there’s no breakdown of financial services offered to traders.

UK Regulatory Structure: 143 Entities Added to Warning List

On October 8, the UK’s financial landscape regulator took a deliberate move to implement a stringent crypto reform as it announced the addition of 143 exchanges to its warning list.

As detailed in the warning list, the British regulatory body stated that nearly all financial trading platforms operating in the UK must obtain registration or authorization from the FCA.

FCA warning lis
Source: FCA

Investors and traders within the British jurisdiction are advised to avoid using these firms to avoid losses or legal implications.

Notably, the FCA’s cautionary list includes popular platforms such as Huobi and KuCoin.

Deeper Insights Into UK’s New Crypto Framework

Prior to the publication of the warning list, the UK government had already put in place legislation to regulate the advertising of crypto assets to the public.

This proactive measure was driven by the desire to safeguard residents from high-risk investments that lacked sufficient information.

On September 21, the FCA issued a reminder regarding the new regulatory framework, which mandated that all financial trading platforms must either register or seek authorization before offering their services to traders.

The reminder emphasized that a significant number of firms were still not in compliance with this “registration or authorization” framework.

Additionally, the British regulator released data on financial advertisements for the second quarter, spanning from April to June 2023.

According to this data, regulatory actions prompted trading firms under FCA oversight to make substantial adjustments or withdraw 1,507 promotions.

FCA financial advertisements data
Source: FCA

Furthermore, the report revealed that the FCA had received 6,378 reports regarding unauthorized businesses in Q2, resulting in 400 warnings being issued to firms and individuals operating in the UK without proper authorization.

With the issued warning lists now official, the regulator expects firms to consider the alerts and protect consumers by registering or seeking authorization, which will end illegal promotions.

Binance New UK’s Entity Is the New Paradigm

The FCA’s recent framework implementation closely follows Binance’s introduction of a new subsidiary for UK traders on October 6.

In this move, Binance has revamped its policies to ensure compliance with registration, authorization, and adherence to the new financial promotion rules set by the FCA.

UK traders will now access Binance through the new UK domain, which features products and services fully compliant with UK regulations.

This comprehensive offering includes fiat and cryptocurrency deposits and withdrawals, spot and margin trading, conversion services, Binance Pay, Crypto Loans, Launchpad, and the NFT marketplace.

With Binance taking the lead in aligning with regulatory requirements, this development sets a precedent for non-compliant trading platforms.

About Jimmy Aki PRO INVESTOR

Based in the UK, Jimmy is an economic researcher with outstanding hands-on and heads-on experience in Macroeconomic finance analysis, forecasting and planning. He has honed his skills having worked cross-continental as a finance analyst, which gives him inter-cultural experience. He currently has a strong passion for regulation and macroeconomic trends as it allows him peek under the global bonnet to see how the world works.