By Elena Vardon


The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority on Thursday said that firms marketing crypto assets will have to abide by new advertising rules that alert consumers to the risks of investing in high-risk assets and protect them from making hasty decisions.

The FCA said the measures are part of a package to help buyers of crypto assets understand that they could lose all of the invested money when purchasing these largely unregulated assets. The measures will become effective on October 8.

They include the introduction of a 24 hour cooling-off period for first-time investors before they're able to make transactions and will ban incentives to invest such as 'refer a friend' or new-joiner bonuses, it added.

The regulator is pushing for the advertisements of crypto promoters to be clear, fair and not misleading, it said.

"The crypto industry needs to prepare now for this significant change. We are working on additional guidance to help them meet our expectations," Sheldon Mills, executive director, consumers and competition, said.


Write to Elena Vardon at elena.vardon@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

06-08-23 0044ET