UK Regulations
Notice to users in the UK
The FCA has expanded the scope of the financial promotions regime to enhance protections for UK users investing in crypto. Due to the potential for losses, the UK financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), considers crypto investments to be high risk.
1. What key risks should I consider?
Before investing any funds in crypto, please consider the following risks carefully:
- Losing your whole investment
- As a whole, the crypto market is extremely volatile, and the values of cryptocurrencies can swing wildly up and down. Be prepared to lose your entire investment.
- The crypto market is mostly unregulated, so there are multiple risks of loss, hacks, cyber-attacks, scams, fraud, or company insolvency.
- Limited protection
- The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) doesn't cover crypto investments. If you lose money in crypto, it's lost forever. Check the FSCS investment protection checker for more info: FSCS Investment protection checker.
- The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) won't bail you out for poor investment performance. However, they might help if it's an FCA-regulated firm issue. Learn more about FOS protection here: For consumers.
- Difficulty of selling crypto
- There are no guarantees that selling your crypto will be easy or even possible. It depends on market factors and could be delayed by technical problems or supply and demand issues.
- Crypto's financial and technical complexity
- Crypto investments can be confusing. Do your own research before investing in any project.
- Not all cryptocurrencies are the same, and some are riskier than others. It's essential to understand the specific risks of each cryptocurrency before investing.
- If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
2. Tips to stay safe
- Diversify your investments:
- Don't put all your money into one type of investment. Diversify your investments to reduce risk.
- As a general rule, steer clear of putting more than 10% of your funds into high-risk ventures.
- If you invest in crypto, ensure you follow security best practices.
- Visit the FCA's website for more tips on investing: InvestSmart.
- For more on investing in cryptocurrencies, visit the FCA's article: Crypto: The basics.
3. How do the UK regulations affect xPortal customers?
You can still send, receive, and store crypto with xPortal. Please note that buying, selling, and staking crypto is currently not accessible to xPortal customers based in the UK due to our commitment to comply with relevant regulatory requirements. If you are a UK-based client with crypto that is currently staked via xPortal, please unstake it at your earliest convenience. For quick human help, please email contact@multiversx.com with any questions.