On 16 December 2024, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a discussion paper, DP24/4, on admissions and disclosures (A&D) and the market abuse regime for cryptoassets (MARC). 

The proposals

The FCA has published DP24/4 to help inform the development of its rules for cryptoasset A&D and the MARC. It is part of a series of publications (outlined in the FCA’s recently published roadmap) that are designed to help shape the UK’s regime for regulating cryptoassets.

The proposals aim to reduce consumer harms and promote confidence and trust in the UK cryptoasset market by:

  • Improving regulatory clarity so that there are clear and consistent ‘rules of the game’ for firms and consumers.
  • Ensuring consumers have the information they need before buying or selling cryptoassets.
  • Requiring controls and processes to bring about fair and orderly trading conditions.
  • Further reducing risks of money laundering and losses to fraud.

These proposals are intended to promote long-term investment and innovation in the UK by creating a marketplace that is “sustainable, robust and trusted”. The FCA has been engaging with industry, including through crypto policy roundtables earlier in 2024, to inform the development of its rules for the A&D and MARC regimes.

Next steps

The FCA is inviting feedback from domestic and international stakeholders – including the Government, international partners, industry and consumers – to help shape the final policy proposals. It is calling for industry to take the lead in developing new ways of disclosing important information to make sure people understand the risks before purchasing cryptoassets.

The deadline for responses is 14 March 2025.

Next steps will be determined once the FCA has considered feedback to DP24/4 and conducted further industry engagement. If it decides to adopt any of the proposals outlined in DP24/4 as part of its final rules, the FCA will publish a further consultation paper.

NRF comment

Hannah Meakin commented:

“While the risks arising from market abuse are comparable in traditional and cryptoasset markets, the FCA accepts there are practical limitations on simply transferring the existing regime. The focus is therefore on a pragmatic approach to creating a bespoke framework to ensure market integrity and consumer protection in the short term, and I think the industry welcomes this.

“The responsibility will sit with market participants, with issuers expected to disclose inside information, and trading platforms and intermediaries to design systems and controls to address market abuse. Of particular interest is the idea of trading platforms sharing information with each other to help deter and disrupt cross-platform market abuse, rather than having the FCA playing a more centralised function.”