The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today published a notice to firms looking to offer crypto exchange trade notes (cETNs).
Consumers can now access crypto exchange trade notes (cETNs), with several products available.
The FCA lifted the ban on retail access to certain cETNs on 8 October. Retail consumers can now access cETNs when they are listed on the FCA Official List and admitted to trading on a UK Recognised Investment Exchange.
Prospectuses must be reviewed and approved before the products are available. The FCA had already been reviewing retail crypto ETN prospectuses in preparation for the 8 October lifting of the ban.
Crypto ETNs are complex products, and firms should ensure they have the correct permissions to offer them to consumers. Where they are planning to offer them, the FCA asks firms to inform their FCA supervisory contact.
These products are categorised as Restricted Mass Market Investments (RMMIs). Firms that offer them will need to comply with the financial promotion rules.
This means firms must:
- Not offer any incentives to invest.
- Have robust appropriateness assessments, client categorisation and cooling-off periods.
- Highlight relevant risk warnings.
- Firms offering cETNs will also need to comply with other rules, including the Consumer Duty. This includes provisions requiring firms to:
- Act to deliver good outcomes for consumers.
- Enable and support consumers to pursue their financial objectives.
- Act in good faith towards consumers and avoid causing them foreseeable harm.
- Identify a target market of consumers for a cETN, design the product to meet the needs, characteristics and objectives of that target market, and take reasonable steps to ensure a cETN is distributed to the target market.
- Ensure that cETNs provide fair value to consumers in the target market.
- Make sure consumers are given the information they need, at the right time, and presented in a way they can understand.
If a firm wishes to apply for authorisation or new permissions to offer cETNs, they can request a pre-application meeting through the FCA pre-application support service.
