Who can sign off your crypto marketing?

Approval, advice and review are three different things — only one makes a UK promotion lawful.

Approval, advice, review.

Three products get sold as “sign-off”. NorthPoint sells the third — review — and is included here, disclosed.

ApprovalAdviceReview
Who performs it An FCA-authorised firm holding the approver permission A law firm or qualified counsel An in-house team, or an operator such as NorthPoint (us)
What you get A lawful route for a specific UK promotion, marker visible on the asset A reasoned, possibly privileged opinion on your facts A per-rule verdict, the triggered line quoted back, a rewrite
Speed Regulated process Partner hours Campaign speed
What it is not Not a compliance guarantee; not valid outside the approver’s own asset-class permission Not approval; it does not make a promotion lawful Not approval and not legal advice. Information only

Two regimes, one structural difference.

UK: Section 21.

Three lawful gateways: be FCA-authorised, have an authorised approver approve the content, or fit a Financial Promotion Order exemption. Reach into the UK decides — see the FCA’s February 2026 HTX action. The three gateways →

EU: MiCA.

No approval gateway. Responsibility stays with the offeror or authorised CASP; fines for the most serious infringements run to €15 million or 12.5% of annual turnover (Article 111). The penalty range →

Where we fit.

Review, not approval: finished assets against published MiCA, FCA and GDPR rule packs — “checked”, never “compliant”. Useful upstream of both, a substitute for neither. Free checks →

Common questions.

Why no ranked list of law firms or approvers?
A ranking built on claims we cannot verify is a liability on a compliance domain. Instead, check the FCA’s Financial Services Register for a firm’s actual permissions — including approval, per asset class — and the national bar directory for standing.
Can any approver approve a crypto promotion?
No. Since the February 2024 reform an approver can only approve asset classes within its own permission. The approval marker must also be visible on the asset itself — an approval you cannot see is, for enforcement purposes, not there.
Does a legal opinion count as approval?
No. Only an approval attaches to a specific promotion and makes an unauthorised firm’s UK communication lawful. Buying the opinion does not get you the approval.
Is any of this legal advice?
No — general information only, not a recommendation of any firm or a compliance determination. For a binding view on a specific promotion, approval or exemption, retain qualified counsel in the relevant jurisdiction.

Know before a regulator does.

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