- Crypto.com suddenly announces a deadline for clients from countries restricted by its loan program to repay their crypto loans.
- The firm has also updated its list of restricted countries to include the United States, the United Kingdom, and 38 other countries.
- The reason(s) for the sudden policy change is unclear, but many speculate it has to do with regulatory pressure or the firm’s recent splurge on marketing.
Crypto.com has set a deadline today for users from countries restricted from its loan program to repay their cryptocurrency loans. The deadline is set to 2 AM UTC, March 15, and the reasons for the announcement are still unclear.
Crypto.com updated its list of restricted countries to include the United States, the United Kingdom, and 38 others. According to the new policy, if users fail to repay their loans by the deadline, then their collateral will be sold and loan positions closed by the platform.
Cryptocurrency lending products have been under the regulatory spotlight for just over a year now. Several cryptocurrency firms received security violation notices from respective state regulators. Well-known cryptocurrency platforms, such as Gemini and Celsius, also came under U.S. Securities and Exchange (SEC) investigation in January this year.
Additionally, BlockFi was also slapped with a $100 million penalty in February for offering clients unregistered cryptocurrency lending products.
However, regulatory pressure isn’t believed to be the only motive behind the change in policy.
Another possible reason for the policy change could have to do with the exchange’s aggressive marketing drive and spending over the last year, which has sparked some concern given that the company, unlike many other cryptocurrencies “unicorns,” has not raised a lot of capital from investors.
Many clients are convinced that the sudden policy change by Crypto.com has something to do with the firm’s excessive spending on their marketing campaign, which includes millions being spent on celebrity endorsements, the purchasing of arenas, and much more.