Use case · Crypto
Cryptoasset promotions that pass the FCA regime.
Since October 2023, crypto financial promotions to UK consumers must carry a prescribed risk warning and drop every incentive to invest. RuleRun checks each email against these rules — including warnings buried inside banner images.
Limited-time offer
BitVault Exchange
Trade with 0% fees this week
Get €50 in BTC on your first deposit
Start TradingCryptoassets are high risk. Capital at risk. T&Cs apply.
Sign-up incentive is banned + risk warning below required prominenceBitVault Exchange · This is a marketing communication · Unsubscribe
Oct 2023
FCA regime in force
Verbatim
Risk-warning match
Image + HTML
What we scan
The challenge
The strictest promotion regime in financial services
The FCA requires an exact risk warning, bans incentives such as deposit bonuses and refer-a-friend, and expects prominence — while MiCA adds marketing-identifier and fair-and-clear duties across the EU. A single non-compliant send can trigger enforcement.
What RuleRun checks
Prescribed risk warning
Confirm the FCA risk warning appears in full and unaltered — even when rendered inside an image.
Banned incentives
Detect deposit bonuses, refer-a-friend, and other incentives to invest that PS23/6 prohibits.
Warning prominence
Check the risk warning is large and legible relative to the offer, not hidden in small print.
Marketing identifier
Verify “This is a marketing communication” is present, as MiCA Article 7 requires.
Approved links
Validate every CTA against approved domains and required tracking parameters.
Misleading claims
Flag “guaranteed returns”, “risk-free”, and other prohibited language with AI review.
Rules → automation
Every crypto rule maps to a check
The FCA and MiCA obligations are unusually prescriptive — which makes them ideal to automate. Each maps to a rule type in RuleRun.
| Regulatory requirement | Authority | Automated by |
|---|---|---|
| Prescribed FCA risk warning shown verbatim | FCA COBS 4.12A.11R | Required Text |
| Risk warning prominent, not small print | FCA COBS 4.12A | Element Relative Size + Text Visibility |
| Warning given sufficient prominence | FCA COBS 4.12A (prominence) | Text Visible Without Scrolling |
| No incentives to invest (bonuses, referrals) | FCA COBS 4.12A.7R | Stop Words + Content Guidelines |
| Identify as a marketing communication | EU MiCA Art. 7 | Required Text |
| Links resolve to approved domains | Operator policy | Required Link |
Authorities link to the official regulator text where one exists. Illustrative mapping — not legal advice. Exact obligations vary by jurisdiction.
The prescribed risk warning
The FCA mandates a specific risk warning, word for word, displayed prominently on crypto promotions. Paraphrasing it, shrinking it, or hiding it inside an image is a common failure — and exactly what our vision-based check catches.
“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. Take 2 mins to learn more.”
Evidence for every finding
Each run shows which rule failed, the measured value, and the annotated screenshot — the paper trail your compliance team and the FCA expect.
- Prescribed risk warning — not detected in full
- Deposit incentive detected — banned under PS23/6
- Risk warning at 40% of headline size
- Marketing identifier present
Email Compliance Report
Automated assessment · Confidential
Generated · just now
Report ID · C9D2E4F1
Assessment summary
Email subject
0% fees + €50 BTC welcome bonus
Rule set
Crypto Promotions (FCA PS23/6)
Rules assessed
6
Violations
3
Rule-by-rule assessment (6 rules)
The mandatory FCA risk warning is not present in full.
Exact FCA risk warning shown verbatim
Required 12-week-rule statement missing; only a short paraphrase found
“Cryptoassets are high risk. Capital at risk.”
A prohibited sign-up incentive was detected.
No incentives to invest (refer-a-friend, deposit bonuses)
Deposit incentive detected in the offer headline
“Get €50 in BTC on your first deposit”
Risk warning rendered at 40% of the offer headline height.
“This is a marketing communication” present (MiCA Art. 7).
All calls-to-action resolve to bitvault.com.
No “guaranteed returns” or “risk-free” language detected.
Generated automatically by RuleRun · Review by a qualified compliance officer before any regulatory decision · Report ID C9D2E4F1
Frequently asked questions
Yes. The Required Text rule can require an exact match, so a paraphrased or partial risk warning fails the check.
Yes. Stop Words flags known incentive phrasing, and Content Guidelines applies AI review for less obvious cases.
We render the email and OCR the creative, so a warning baked into a banner is read and measured like HTML text.
You configure the rules per regime — FCA, MiCA, or both. RuleRun automates the checks; it is not legal advice.
Trigger via the API or a no-code email address from your ESP. See the API docs for details.
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