Solana’s Leading DeFi Protocol Marinade Finance Restricts UK Users Due To (FCA) Regulations
Marinade Finance, Solana’s largest decentralized finance (Defi) protocol, has taken steps to restrict access to users in the United Kingdom. The decision was made due to “compliance concerns” with Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulations.
When attempting to access the site, users in the UK are met with a warning message, which says, “Users may withdraw liquidity, claim delayed tickets, or delay unstake via our SDK”.
This action reflects the overall scenario in response to the FCA’s recent promotion rule, which forced a number of significant centralized cryptocurrency companies to halt their operations in the UK region.
Marinade Finance Restrictions on Access for UK Users
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is actively adopting new regulations that have a direct influence on the digital asset industry, which is changing the scene for crypto companies serving UK customers.
As a result, many crypto firms are currently going through a period of change as they actively plan how to comply with and negotiate these new regulatory requirements.
Due to the current situation, Marinade Finance is also imposing access restrictions, basically limiting the number of UK-based users that can interact with their site.
As per Coindesk’s report, Marinade dominates the Solana blockchain’s total value locked (TVL) with $248 million, primarily through its native and liquid staking offerings. This information is also supported by Defilama’s data, which also confirms that the total value of the assets on Solana is around $350 million.
This current action by Marinade is not the only occurrence. Orca Finance, known as Solana’s largest decentralized exchange, has simultaneously implemented geo-blocking measures.
Furthermore, well-known cryptocurrency firms like Bybit and Paypal have actively decided to stop offering their services in the UK in response to the FCA’s strict promotional requirements.
Similar to Luno, Binance has stopped accepting new customers from the UK and has started a process to limit user investments in cryptocurrency.
It is clear that these platforms have a proactive approach, as indicated by the preventative measures they have taken to avoid any potential regulatory obstacles.
However, geographical limitations are uncommon in the world of decentralized protocols because a majority of them function without the requirement for thorough know-your-customer (KYC) verifications.
Also read: Steps to claim MetaMask’s potential Airdrop
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is yet unclear how these DeFi platforms will proceed in the UK’s crypto market. As this situation develops, we can only hope for a favorable outcome that serves regulatory authorities and users equally.
Follow us on X (Twitter) to stay updated!
I don’t even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post was great. I don’t know who you are but definitely you are going to a famous blogger if you aren’t already 😉 Cheers!