Half of UK’s banned cryptocurrency ads remain online as regulator fails to penalize firms

On January 1st, it was reported by the Financial Times that despite half of banned illegal cryptocurrency advertisements still being present online after regulatory authorities demanded their removal, the UK financial regulatory authority has not yet imposed any penalties on companies that have failed to remove illegal cryptocurrency advertisements. According to data obtained through freedom of information requests, out of 1,702 warnings issued by the UK Financial Conduct Authority from October 2023 to October 2024, only 54% resulted in the closure of illegal cryptocurrency advertisements, applications, or websites.