Revolut drops crypto services; Novogratz awaits BTC approval

Revolut, a global neobank and financial tech company, decided to temporarily stop crypto purchases on its business platform in the United Kingdom in 2024. Holding and selling crypto could continue unabated, according to an email sent by Revolut that advises consumers of the decision that only mentioned purchase. 

The company stated that halting its crypto services gives it more time to comply with the new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules on promoting crypto. Revolut will cease all crypto purchases on its platform starting January 3, 2024. 

‘We’ll need to adjust our current Business crypto offering to make sure all of the new requirements are met’, Revolut told customers in a message on X (formerly Twitter). The company is the latest of various firms that are affected by the FCA rules.

FCA announced its new rule in June 2023 which was brought to light to bring cryptocurrency advertising to follow in the steps of other high-risk investment products. Among the new rules is about warning customers of the risky nature of crypto investments. It included a ban on bonuses for companies referring new customers as well as a ‘cooling-off period’ that delays the process of placing orders for first-time investors. 

Concerns about potential compliance issues led to an extension of the deadline from October 8, 2023, to January 8, 2024. By September 2023, the FCA could tell that many crypto companies needed to be more engaged. 

The FCA had documented more than 200 rule violations by October 25th, and in November 2023, it released further regulations clarification to urge crypto companies into complying. With FCA’s ‘tough’ rules, Bybit withdrew from the UK market in September 2023.

NMarinade Finance with its headquarters in Solana, began barring customers from the UK in October 2023. Binance also stopped onboarding customers in the nation due to a regulatory violation by its compliance partner, Rebuildoingsociety.com in the same month. 

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Mike Novogratz awaits spot BTC ETF approval

Founder and CEO of Galaxy Digital, Mike Novogratz announced on December 19, 2023, that he is expecting a spot Bitcoin (BTC) futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) to be approved in the following weeks. A BTC ETF is a financial product that allows investors to gain exposure to BTC through the trading of futures contracts.

‘We’re going to get this ETF before Jan. 10, 2023. That’s kind of the drop dead date that Gensler has before he gets in trouble with Grayscale and the lawsuit, and so I think you’re going to see this announced. It wouldn’t start trading then, it probably takes six to eight weeks after that’, Novogratz stated in an interview with CNBC.

Novogratz suggested how crypto stocks are trading ‘like a maniac’ and how an approval may be ‘more fuel for a fire’, hinting at potential market benefits. He also implied that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is obligated to examine Grayscale's spot BTC ETF application, hinting that the deadline is associated with this ruling. 

However, contrary to his suggestion, the Jan. 10th date pertains to a separate application from Ark Invest and 21Shares. Since Ark's proposal is one of the earliest spot BTC ETFs that have not yet been approved or rejected by the SEC, the decision must be made in January 2024 without any room for additional delays.

With various governing bodies releasing new rules for the crypto market, the community is expressing mixed emotions. Some are optimistic since rules can imply that various jurisdictions are slowly welcoming the idea of cryptocurrency. On the other hand, other crypto users including Bitcoin casino games enthusiasts who play at sites like Gamdom are worried about its future. 

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