UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a warning against the Solana-based memecoin and NFT project ‘Retardio’, which operates without the authority’s permission. FCA cited unauthorized promotions and financial services by Retardio, which may have targeted users in the UK. The government agency reminded investors to deal only with FCA-registered crypto companies to ensure the transparency of the business.
Raising red flags on the Retardio seems to be part of the FCA’s new plan to update crypto regulations to bring transparency and protect investors in the crypto sector. The authority also published a discussion paper regarding the “clear crypto regulation” on the same day it warned about Solana’s memecoin project.
Solana-based NFT collection achieved notable sales
According to the CryptoSlam, the Retardio project features a Solana-based non-fungible token (NFT) collection that has achieved sales of around $31 million since its inception. Similarly, its memecoin token is currently trading in the market and has a ‘Retardio’ ticker, which trades at $0.08 as of the time of this news. As per the stats offered by CoinStats, the project has a market capitalization of over $83 million.
On the other hand, the FCA further pressed that the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), a legal firm having powers to settle complaints between investors and financial companies, would not help those who invest in unauthorized crypto firms.
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is another government authority in the UK that is responsible for protecting consumers in case of financial damages. In case a fraud company runs out of business after collecting consumers’ funds, FSCS would not support the victims, FCA noted.
This means it’s unlikely you’d get your money back if the firm goes out of business,
FCA advised to invest in registered companies
Given that, a user should invest in a registered company to have the state’s financial watchdogs’ support and protection. Also, FCA instructed consumers that before investing their hard-earned money, check the firm’s registry number to see if it operates with legal permissions. The government agency also suggested that consumers report unauthorized firms to FCA by contacting them through its official channels.