In what might be the most baffling announcement from a UK financial regulator this year, a warning has been issued against “Retardio”—a memecoin associated with the milady community.
The warning, published today, cautions the public about engaging with Retardio and its associated website, retardio.xyz. The regulator alleges the project is promoting financial services without proper authorization.
Let’s be clear: warnings against crypto scams are important. But this? This feels like overkill. Retardio isn’t exactly a household name. It’s not leading the charge on DeFi innovation or even scamming people out of millions like certain other projects we won’t name. If anything, its absurd branding should be warning enough.
So why is a UK regulator dedicating time and resources to this? One can’t help but wonder if someone in the office got burned. Did a staffer’s nephew “ape” into Retardio after hearing about it in a Telegram group? Did a lawmaker mistake it for the next Dogecoin and end up holding the bag? Speculation, sure, but given the low stakes here, it’s hard to imagine another explanation for why anyone would care.
Retardio’s existence was already absurd. But the fact that a major regulatory body took it seriously enough to issue an official warning elevates the absurdity to new heights. Memecoins thrive on attention, and now Retardio has the UK’s stamp of disapproval—arguably the best marketing boost it could’ve asked for.
