Luno to Halt Some UK Clients From Investing in Crypto as Regulation Looms

Crypto exchange Luno plans to stop some U.K. clients from investing in crypto, Nick Taylor, head of public policy at the company, told CoinDesk in a statement.

These changes will come into effect by Oct. 6, two days before the U.K.’s new crypto promotion rules are set to come into force. CoinDesk and Luno are both subsidiaries of Digital Currency Group.

“The FCA has implemented new rules for crypto firms. As a result, all compliant crypto firms with U.K. customers are making a number of changes to their platforms in order to comply with the new regulations,” Taylor said. “For Luno, this includes pausing the ability to invest through the platform for some customers for the time being.”

An email shown to CoinDesk from a Luno client said that they would be unable to buy or trade crypto as of Oct. 6.

The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority’s new promotion rules will treat crypto like “restricted mass market investments” and require any advertisements or promotions to contain clear warnings and ban incentives. Though the new rules were set to take effect on Oct. 8, firms can now apply for an extra three months to apply the rules.

Luno is not the only one pausing parts of its U.K. business temporarily. In response to these rules, PayPal also said it would halt crypto purchases in October till 2024.

Affected Luno customers can still sell and withdraw their funds, Taylor added. “We are taking a phased approach to reintroducing investment opportunities to our customers,” he said.