The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued a stern warning to resident investors against the Bitfinex exchange, stating the firm is a non-compliant entity and should be avoided.

In a recent development, the United Kingdom financial watchdog, the FCA has released a statement classifying Bitfinex as an unauthorized exchange targeting UK investors.

In the statement, the regulator said,

"Firms and individuals cannot promote financial services in the UK without the necessary authorization or approval" adding that "This firm is not authorized by us and may be targeting people in the UK."

The FCA issued the warning to investors stressing that they would have no access to the Financial Ombudsman Service in case of any complaint if they continued engaging with the exchange. In addition, investors will not be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) in case things go wrong.

Bitfinex expresses disappointment

Meanwhile, Bitfinex has issued a statement expressing its disappointment in the Financial Conduct Authority. Bitfinex said in the statement that it is "very disappointed by the action taken by the FCA" adding that it had previously engaged in elaborate discussions with the financial watchdog and had also taken actions to try and meet up with the FCA’s requirements.

Some of the actions it took included sending a notice to all its customers with the details of all measures taken to meet the FCA’s requirements. Additionally, Bitfinex also blocked access to some of its website pages to people in the UK.

Some of the blocked pages included Bitfinex Affiliates pages, Staking pages, Credit / Debit Cards, Lending Pro, Bitfinex Borrow, various ‘How to buy’ pages, and the Mobile App information page.

Bitfinex continued by pointing out that it has a track record of working with global regulatory authorities and law enforcement agencies to ensure the protection of investors and combat crime and scams.

Ultimately, Bitfinex expressed its disappointment that the UK's FCA had not acknowledged all the efforts it has put in to stay compliant.