October 18 Notice to Bitfinex Customers – Financial Promotions in the UK
In advertisements
On 7 June 2023, the Financial Conduct Authority published the Financial Promotion Amendment Order 2023, which expands the scope of the UK’s financial promotion regime to include crypto assets. The rules apply to all financial promotions that have effect in the UK; Therefore, third-party companies do not necessarily need to actively advertise to UK-based consumers to be in scope if the channels they use are accessible from the UK.
As part of Bitfinex's commitment to operating in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, UK persons and some of our UK customers will experience changes when accessing the Bitfinex website and when using our products and services. From now on, UK residents who created a Bitfinex account on or after 1 November 2023 will not be eligible to apply for individual account verification. Furthermore, not all UK persons who are believed to be accessing Bitfinex's public website from the UK will be able to view certain pages providing information relating to various products and services including:
- Subsidiaries
- Staking
- Credit/debit cards
- Lending Pro
- Borrow Bitfinex
- Various “How to Buy” pages including “How to Buy”…: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin
- Mobile app information page
When you try to access pages related to these services, you will be redirected to the main page of the site with the following message:
In response to the financial promotions regime, UK customers will see changes in the availability of certain products and services. UK customers will no longer be able to generate new referral codes within the affiliate program. Additionally, in line with the new rules, we will aim to remove other Bitfinex services where applicable, which will be communicated to all affected customers as appropriate.
Disclaimers will also be included on our website, such as when a UK customer attempts to create an account and access Bitfinex services for the first time. This disclaimer is placed on the registration page to inform clients of the risks associated with investing in crypto assets. It will stipulate:
Cryptoassets are a high-risk product, and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong.
Risk Disclaimer
Trading in crypto assets is volatile, and markets change rapidly in terms of price, liquidity, market depth and trading dynamics. As such, you should only do this if you are prepared to lose all the money you are putting at risk. Cryptoassets are often high-risk products, and you will not be protected if something goes wrong. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) does not protect this type of product, and the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) will not be able to consider complaints about this company. Likewise, there is no guarantee that acquisitions of crypto assets can be easily sold at any time. You should do your own research before investing. Please take (2) minutes to review Bitfinex Risk Disclosure Statement Or more information about crypto assets and their risks; Visit the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) website. here.
here 5 questions to ask before you invest. Furthermore, if you are interested in learning more about how to protect yourself, visit the FCA website. here.
Bitfinex is committed to continuing to make its services available to its customers while taking the necessary measures to ensure that it operates in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
