The rule.
“Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high‑risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong.”
Verbatim extract, read on 4 November 2026 from the source below. Everything else on this page is NorthPoint’s plain-English reading.
What it requires.
- The promotion contains the risk warning in the exact words above.
- Where a third-party marketing provider's character limit is shorter than the warning, COBS 4.12A.11R(2) sets a shorter form.
Who it applies to.
Financial promotions relating to one or more qualifying cryptoassets, for the purposes of COBS 4.12A.10R — communicated by authorised firms or by registered persons relying on Article 73ZA.
Common violations in marketing copy.
Crypto is risky. Only invest what you can afford to lose.
The rule prescribes specific words; a paraphrase is not the prescribed warning.
Warning only on the website, not in the paid social ad itself
Each financial promotion carries the warning.
Non-compliant vs compliant.
“Capital at risk. T&Cs apply.”
“Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high‑risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong.”
Related rules.
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COBS 4 Annex 1R, section 8 · United Kingdom
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COBS 4.12A.37G · 4.12A.41G · United Kingdom
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COBS 4.12A.7R · United Kingdom
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FPO Article 73ZA · United Kingdom
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COBS 4.1.7CR · United Kingdom
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COBS 4.1.7DG · United Kingdom
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EU and UK side by side.
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NorthPoint’s long-form page.
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UK cryptoasset financial promotions (FSMA s21, the FPO and FCA COBS).
Source.
| Instrument | FCA Handbook, COBS (as amended by the Cryptoasset Financial Promotions Instrument 2023, FCA 2023/27) |
|---|---|
| Provision | COBS 4.12A.11R(1)(d) |
| Primary source | https://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/instrument/2023/FCA_2023_27.pdf |
| Official text | https://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/handbook/COBS/4/ |
| Read from | FCA 2023/27 as made (in force 8 October 2023), read from the FCA Handbook instrument PDF; the consolidated Handbook page is a script-rendered app the build session could not read |
| Checked |
This page is general, sourced information for marketing teams, not legal advice. The examples are written by NorthPoint to illustrate the rule; for a binding view on your own promotion, retain qualified counsel in the jurisdiction concerned.