The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has imposed restrictions on Rebuilding Society, Binance’s UK approver for financial promotions compliance, just days after the partnership was announced. The FCA intervention prohibits Rebuilding Society from conducting financial promotions on behalf of unauthorized crypto-asset service providers, media reports said.
Specifically, the FCA’s OIREQ requirement states that the firm cannot approve the content of financial promotions for qualifying crypto-assets to be communicated by unauthorized entities.
Rebuilding Society has been given until 5 p.m. BST on Wednesday to retract any prior financial promotion approvals granted to unauthorized entities, as per the regulatory directive. Additionally, the FCA has instructed Rebuilding Society to inform clients using its third-party financial promotions service that it cannot approve content from unauthorized persons or entities. The withdrawal of any advertisements offering approval services for financial promotions is also mandated.
The FCA’s move follows Binance’s recent announcement of partnering with Rebuilding Society to achieve financial promotions compliance in the UK. In a blog post, Binance highlighted the collaboration, asserting that it has FCA authorization and regulatory approval to comply with the FCA’s new financial promotions regime.
The FCA’s updated regime for crypto asset financial promotions came into effect on October 8, covering various media forms, including websites, social media, and online advertising. Failure to comply with these guidelines may result in criminal offenses for unregistered crypto asset firms under Section 21 of the UK’s Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, punishable by imprisonment, fines, or both.
Regulated entities like Archax have the authority to endorse promotions for other crypto companies. However, the regime change has affected services like news feeds on platforms such as Binance’s global website and Coinbase’s app, which are no longer accessible to users in the UK.
