AGI – Consob and Bank of Italy draw the attention of the community, and in particular of small savers, to the “high risks associated with crypto-asset operations (crypto-assets) which may involve the complete loss of the sums of money used “.
The recall, which follows similar initiatives already taken in the past, explains a joint note, “is appropriate pending the definition of a unitary regulatory framework in Europe”. Recently, the three European supervisory authorities, Eba, Esma ed Eiopa, recalling their 2018 warning, reiterated the highly risky and speculative nature of crypto-assets, warning consumers to pay attention to the high risks associated with their purchase and / or holding.
For some time, Consob and Bankitalia explain, there has been a growing interest on the market, at European and international level, in crypto-assets, such as Bitcoin “, underlining that in the absence of a regulatory in crypto-assets it presents risks of various kinds, including: the scarce availability of information on how prices are determined; the volatility of the prices; the complexity of the underlying technologies; the absence of legal and contractual safeguards, of information obligations on the part of operators and of specific forms of supervision on these operators as well as of rules to safeguard the sums used “.
It is also reported “the risk of losses due to malfunctions, cyber attacks or loss of access credentials to electronic wallets “.
These risks, Consob and Bankitalia observe, “now take on greater significance in relation to the spread of forms of offers through the digital channel that facilitate the purchase of crypto-assets by a very large audience of subjects“.
The European Commission, recalls the joint note, “has recently made a proposal for regulation to govern the issue, the offer to the public, the provision of services and the fight against market abuse in relation to the different types of crypto-assets. The proposal pursues the objective of defining a solid legal framework for these instruments as well as guaranteeing the integrity of the market and adequate levels of protection for consumers and savers. The approval process for the regulatory proposal is still underway “.
At the moment, therefore, “the purchase of crypto-assets it is not subject to the rules on transparency banking products and investment services and continues to lack specific forms of protection; in particular, these activities are not subject to any form of supervision or control by the supervisory authorities.
Consequently – Consob and Bankitalia conclude – also the adhesion to offers of financial products related to crypto-assets, such as the so-called digital token, is a highly risky investment, even more so if, as often found, the offers are made by unauthorized, unauthorized, unregulated and not supervised by any Authority operators “.
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