The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority is accused of ignoring its own consultation and cherry-picking data.
Last week’s blanket banning of cryptocurrency derivatives by the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority ignored 97% of respondents to its consultation, according to the FCA’s own policy statement.
The 527 respondents included exchanges and companies involved in crypto assets and derivatives, trade bodies, national competent authorities, legal representatives and individuals.
The 97% who opposed the FCA proposed ban argued that crypto assets do have intrinsic value, retail investors are capable of assessing this value, and that other measures could achieve the desired results without applying a “disproportionate” ban.
In his blog, Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain, crypto-sceptic David Gerard suggested that this was an example of “Crypto derivatives peddlers [thinking] they could spam the process, and they were wrong.”
Certainly, the responses came from a “range of stakeholders” covering the UK crypto industry.