‘Nation should not compensate investors for crypto losses’ says UK’s Financial Conduct Authority CEO

On Wednesday, Nikhil Rathi, CEO of the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority, or FCA, issued the following statement to the Treasury Committee when asked about the risks of the much-unregulated cryptocurrency sector in the country:

When we talk about the compensation scheme, we have to draw some pretty clear lines. I would suggest anything is crypto-related should not be entitled to compensations, and consumers should be clear about that when investing. 

In the passage, Rathi refers to the FCA’s Financial Services Compensation Scheme, or FSCS, which pays out compensation to consumers when certain authorized financial institutions cannot meet claims against them, such as during bankruptcies, criminal schemes, or insurance breach-of-contract. In theory, the proposed rules would prevent UK crypto investors from receiving government restitution who have been scammed by allegedly fraudulent cryptocurrency exchanges or decentralized finance rug pulls, as they are either unregulated or operate in legal grey areas. More than 717 million pounds were paid out to consumers this year by the FSCS to compensate their financial loss.

Nikhil Rathi speaking at the Treasury Committee hearing | Source: parliamentlive.tv

“There are technologies underpinning cryptocurrencies, which, I think we would recognize, as having significant benefits and value, such as tackling financial crimes. A number of innovations, however, we have raised concerns around,” said Rathi when asked about the country’s regulatory framework. “Some of these crypto-assets, we don’t believe, have intrinsic value. They have been a part of a series of organized crimes and money laundering, and anyone who invests in them must be ready to lose all of their money.”