The UK 's Financial Conduct Authority ( FCA ) is considering whether it needs to take regulatory action on initial coin ##ages ( ICOs ) . The FCA is examining the market for ICOs , which have become increasingly popular as start - ups seeking to raise funds from cryptocurrency investors . ICOs have faced increased regulatory scrutiny globally after a series of attacks and cyber attacks , with China already having investigated them . The ##A earlier warned that ICOs are " high - risk " investments , the majority of which are unregulated . The review is being undertaken as part of research into distributed ledger technology .
The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is considering whether it needs to take regulatory action on initial coin offerings (ICOs). The FCA is examining the market for ICOs, which have become increasingly popular as start-ups attempt to raise funds from cryptocurrency investors. ICOs have faced increased regulatory scrutiny globally after a series of scams and cyber attacks, with China already having banned them. The FCA earlier warned that ICOs are "high-risk" investments, the majority of which are unregulated. The review is being undertaken as part of research into distributed ledger technology.