Biggest DeFi protocol on Solana reportedly quits UK market citing FCA rules
Marinade Finance, the largest decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol running on the Solana blockchain, has reportedly started banning users from the UK. Customers in the UK discovered the problem on October 23rd when trying to access the Marinade website from local IP addresses, and were met with this message.
“Access to this site is not available in the United Kingdom due to concerns about compliance with the laws and regulations issued by UK Finance in the United Kingdom. [sic] Conduct authority. Users can withdraw accounts, request delayed tickets, or delay unscheduled time through our SDK.
Marinade Finance has nearly 75,000 users with a total value of more than $265 million locked up at the time of writing, accounting for 70 percent of the funds locked on the Solana blockchain.
Related: Huobi, KuCoin, over 140 crypto exchanges ‘unauthorised' – UK regulator
While Marinade's message did not specify the rules, the protocol is not the first to cross the UK market in recent months. On October 16, crypto exchange Binance stopped accepting users from the UK, citing certification issues with a local trading partner. PayPal suspended crypto transactions for its UK customers, as did BayBit in late September.
On October 8, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) introduced the Financial Promotion (FinProm) system for cryptocurrency companies to promote “fair, clean and transparent” advertising in the crypto industry. Some companies, including OKX and MoonPay, have already announced plans to comply with the FCA's rules.
Cointelegraph contacted Marinade Finance for more information but did not receive an immediate response.
Magazine: 6 questions for Adel Nazarian on crypto, journalism and the future of Bitcoin
