The United Kingdom’s financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has vigorously promoted its marketing rules for crypto firms since they were published in June. It’s now found a way to bring them to life, in the form of a pixelated Wild West cartoon to enlighten investors.
A minute-long animation mimicking the style and sound of a video game appeared as an MP4 file on the FCA’s website on Dec. 13. The cartoon isn’t presented as part of a press release but is listed as a standalone, with no caption or explanation around it, on the publications page.
The cartoon explains how to judge whether crypto companies play by the FCA’s marketing rules. Crypto promo campaigns are not allowed to propose free gifts or referral bonuses and must display a “prominent” warning about the risk of losing money when investing in crypto.
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As the narrator voices these rules, the cartoon protagonist, wearing a cowboy hat, rides through the Wild West landscape on a horse. Crypto appears as a golden coin above a well, dropping into the well directly in front of the investor-cowboy. When she hears the narrator warn about companies not complying with the FCA’s marketing rules, she hangs up a “Wanted” poster with a green snake’s face on it. The snake also wears a tiny hat.
The FCA didn’t immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for further information.
The FCA has issued numerous warnings and reminders since the new rules were published on June 8. It has even extended technical deadlines from Oct. 8 to Jan. 8, 2024.
Despite these measures, several market players, including Marinade Finance, the largest decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol running on the Solana blockchain, have announced their departure from the U.K. in response to the rules.
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