FCA warns Bitfinex may be promoting financial services without permission
The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today issued a warning against Bitfinex.
The regulator says that the firm may be promoting financial services or products without its permission. The public is advised to avoid dealing with this firm.
Firms and individuals cannot promote financial services in the UK without the necessary authorisation or approval. Bitfinex is not authorised by the FCA and may be targeting people in the UK.
Unauthorised firm details
- Name: Bitfinex / bitfinex.com
- Website: bitfinex.com
If you deal with this firm, you won’t have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service if you have a complaint.
You also won’t be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) if things go wrong. This means it’s unlikely you’d get your money back if the firm goes out of business.
Earlier in October, Bitfinex posted a notice on its website stating that, in response to the financial promotions regime, UK customers will see changes to the availability of certain products and services. UK customers will no longer be able to generate new referral codes within the Affiliate Program. Furthermore, Bitfinex will be targeting the removal of additional services where applicable, to which all affected customers will be informed as appropriate.
Additionally, UK clients of Bitfinex will notice disclaimers inserted in Bitfinex website, such as at the point a UK customer attempts to create an account and access the Bitfinex services for the first time. This disclaimer is placed on the Sign Up page so as to inform customers of the risks associated with investing in crypto assets. It will state:
Crypto assets are a high-risk product, and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong.