Crypto is decentralised. When someone sends something like Bitcoin, the transaction is processed by a network of computers and recorded on a digital ledger called a blockchain.
No banks, no stock markets. Just money moving freely around the world.
Technically speaking, it’s been a game-changer.
But because crypto is so different, it does come with risks that we’d like to run you through now.
Volatility
Crypto prices are very volatile and always changing — we’ll always show you the latest prices on MoonPay.
So while people do make money on crypto, it’s a highly risky investment and you might lose all your money.
For that reason, it’s often recommended that you shouldn’t invest more than 10% of your wealth (not including things like your house) into something as volatile as crypto.
Holding cryptocurrencies
You hold crypto in a wallet. A wallet comes with a public key and a private one.
Think of a public key like bank details. You should share your public key with others to receive crypto transactions.
Your private keys are more like a PIN code. You should never share your private key with anyone, as that will give them full control over the wallet.
Using MoonPay
When you use MoonPay, we don’t hold your crypto on our platform. Instead, if you need to spend from your crypto wallet, we’ll simply connect you to your wallet app and let you authorise the payment from there.
It’s like shopping online with a credit card — sometimes you’ll need to follow some steps from your bank to verify a purchase.
Because of how we work with wallets, it also means we don’t know what your private keys are either.
So regardless of whether anything happens to MoonPay or our platform, your crypto will always be safe.
Our relationship with regulators in the UK
The Financial Conduct Authority is starting to put in place new rules for crypto companies, like MoonPay.
That’s why we’re already registered with the FCA under the Money Laundering Regulations of 2017.
As part of that, we have to warn our customers sometimes about the risks of using crypto — using pages like this, for instance.
How regulatory protection works in the UK
In the UK, there aren’t any regulatory schemes that apply to crypto transactions.
So be careful of anyone promising crypto-related investments that are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, or the Financial Ombudsman Service. Neither can do much if you run into a problem using crypto.
Got any questions?
Our team’s always happy to help. Jump on the in-app chat, and we’ll do our best to assist.