"This firm is not authorised by us and is targeting people in the UK," the Financial Conduct Authority said in a statement.
ADVERTISEMENTBritain's financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), says the cryptocurrency exchange FTX may be offering financial services or products in the UK without its authorisation.
FTX is one of the world's largest crypto exchanges, raising its profile this year by acting as crypto's white knight, throwing lifelines to digital asset platforms which have faltered as cryptocurrency prices have cratered.
"Almost all firms and individuals offering, promoting or selling financial services or products in the UK have to be authorised or registered by us," the FCA said in a statement on Friday (September 16) that went largely unnoticed amid preparations for the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
"This firm is not authorised by us and is targeting people in the UK," said the statement, which carried the subject "FTX".
"You will not have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service or be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), so you are unlikely to get your money back if things go wrong," it added.
FTX did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent on Monday, a public holiday in the UK.
Regulators around the world continue to grapple with how best to regulate the cryptocurrency industry, whose meltdown has lately been wiping out fortunes and sparking calls for tighter scrutiny worldwide.
In April, the UK government said it was committed to regulating stablecoins, and in July the FCA said that global rules were needed to regulate international crypto firms and "keep markets clean".
That same month, the European Union agreed on a landmark new regulation giving issuers of crypto assets and providers of related services a “passport” to serve clients across the EU from a single base while meeting capital and consumer protection rules.
