An investigative report by BuyShares shows that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ignored feedback from 97% of the respondents before banning crypto ETNs and derivatives in its widely criticised ban.
The ban seems politically motivated
The BuyShares report reveals how the FCA had ignored 97% of respondents and eschewed important time periods in its conclusion when a significant majority of account holders had made a profit from Bitcoin.
The BuyShares report also reveals that despite the FCA’s concern that Bitcoin’s volatility makes it unsuitable for investors, more popular investment markets including the FTSE100, NASDAQ, S&P500 and Oil have experienced similar or even greater volatility in the last 12 months.
While it uses a time period of April 2018 to December 2019 to show that 57% of investors in bitcoin had lost money, it fails to acknowledge that an even greater percentage of investors would have lost money in the FTSE 100 from April 2018 to today.
“The FCA noted that 60% of client outcomes from trading crypto-ETNs between June 2015 and April 2019 were profitable. This also happens to be the largest time period used in the report,” said Justinas Baltrušaitis, BuyShares researcher.
However, the FCA considered this time period unsuitable for its conclusion, due to the meteoric rise of Bitcoin at this time.
Will the FCA’s crypto ban help protect UK investors? The need to address consumer safety when investing in Bitcoin is higher than ever. According to the same data, it is extremely important that the FCA takes a more active role in regulating the nascent cryptocurrency industry, just like the EU is aiming to do by 2024. However, according to the FCA’s summary, banning crypto derivatives will simply encourage customers to trade at unregulated firms in third country jurisdictions.
“One wonders whether the FCA’s decision to ban cryptocurrency derivatives is a politically motivated one that will absolve responsibility of the FCA with regards to cryptocurrencies. As opposed to setting out a long-term strategy that will safeguard both UK investors and the blockchain innovation at large,” added Justinas Baltrušaitis.
The ban has cast many companies into crisis as they will run out of business, especially those without diversified interests.
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