UK Regulators List Huobi, Kucoin and Over 140 Exchanges on its Warning List

The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) worked hard on Sunday, October 8th, placing 143 more crypto exchanges, like Huobi/HTX and KuCoin, on its warning list. These are firms that people “should avoid” because they are not authorized by the FCA. The clear message is: "You should avoid dealing with this firm."

In the UK, companies dealing with digital money must be registered with the FCA or have a special temporary status. Jayson Probin, a leader at the FCA, warned in July that companies that don’t follow the rules might face serious consequences, even criminal charges: "We will take robust action..."

Since 2020, only about 13% of applications for registration have been approved by the FCA. PayPal stopped crypto transactions for UK users until it can fully follow FCA’s rules. Similarly, Bybit, a crypto exchange from Dubai, stopped all its services in the UK last month due to new rules. 

Recently crypto firms like Binance and OKX have taken measures to comply with the new financial promotion rules in the UK, Binance announced a new page for UK users and partnered with local peer to peer platform while OKX said that it has reduced its token offering to about 40 assets and tried to implement attention grabbing risk warnings on its platform to warn users of the risks in crypto trading. OKX also opened a new X account dedicated to UK users.

In brief, the FCA is keeping a tight watch on crypto businesses, ensuring they adhere to the rules, highlighting the tension between digital currency platforms and regulatory bodies.