The rule.
“Due to the potential for losses, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) considers this investment to be high risk.”
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 summary opens 'Estimated reading time: 2 min' and has five headings: you could lose all the money you invest; you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong; you may not be able to sell when you want to; cryptoasset investments can be complex; don't put all your eggs in one basket.
- Square-bracketed alternatives are chosen by firm type, and square-bracketed web addresses become links in a digital medium.
Who it applies to.
Cryptoasset financial promotions whose risk warning links to a risk summary; the Annex belongs to COBS 4.12A.11R and COBS 4.12A.20R.
Common violations in marketing copy.
A shortened 'key risks' box with three of the five headings
The Annex text is prescribed; dropping headings changes it.
'Take 2 mins to learn more' linking to the home page
The link should open the risk summary itself.
Non-compliant vs compliant.
“Key risks: crypto is volatile. See T&Cs.”
“Estimated reading time: 2 min. Due to the potential for losses, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) considers this investment to be high risk. (followed by the five Annex headings in full)”
Related rules.
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COBS 4.12A.11R(1)(d) · United Kingdom
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COBS 4.12A.37G · 4.12A.41G · United Kingdom
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COBS 4.12A.21R · 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 Annex 1R, section 8 |
| 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.