FCA has noted that UK customers of FTX may be alarmed following its provisional liquidation in the Bahamas and filing for bankruptcy in the US. It had previously warned customers that FTX is not regulated in the UK and has now confirmed that the regulation of crypto-assets is limited to the registration of UK-based exchanges for AML purposes. As a result, FTX was not registered, regulated or authorised by FCA.
The FTX failure will bring even greater attention to the proposal in the FSM Bill to enable crypto-related activities to be brought within the scope of regulated activities, and will add pressure to the Government to consult on the necessary changes to secondary legislation as soon as possible.