Binance targeted by Italian regulator as global crypto scrutiny intensifies

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Italian banking regulator Consob has warned consumers that Binance is not licensed to conduct regulated investment services and activities in the country, joining a choir of watchdogs around the world to crack down on the use of crypto. change.

Warnings against Binance were issued by regulators in the UK, Japan, Cayman Islands, Malta and Thailand last month, all of whom said the company was not licensed to provide services such as derivatives and spot trading in their jurisdictions.

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority said its warning concerned a recently acquired UK unit called Binance Markets Limited, which a Binance spokesperson said was separate from its Binance.com website.

Consob said Binance is not licensed to provide services in the country at all, not even through its website.

A Binance spokesperson said the company was aware of Consob’s notice and could confirm that Binance.com does not operate outside of Italy. This has no direct impact on the services provided on Binance.com.

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Watchdogs have issued harsher messages highlighting the risks inherent in cryptocurrencies as adoption becomes more widespread.

In the same July 15 statement, the Consob warned that consumers should exercise extreme caution when trading in crypto-asset related instruments, which could put them at risk of losing all of their money. .

The regulator said any consumer wishing to purchase cryptocurrency should only do so with an adequate understanding of the risks involved and when there is a clear and complete picture of the identity of the service provider they are using.

Similar warnings have been made by the FCA and other cryptocurrency regulators. The British watchdog said earlier on July 15 that it plans to spend $ 11 million on a digital marketing campaign to publicize the potential damage from crypto investments.

That the FCA still raises concerns about crypto is no surprise, said Claire Simm, general manager of financial services compliance and regulation at Kroll.

Innovation such as crypto always comes with risk and the focus will be on communication; to use a crypto exchange it doesn’t need to be located in the UK, so the best tool the FCA has is communication.

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Data revealed by Financial News showed bitcoin to be the preferred trap for online crooks using paid ads to target unsuspecting Britons, accounting for 95% of all alerts reported by the Advertising Standards Authority last year.

Despite the regulatory heat, banks and institutional investors continued with plans to provide clients with access to cryptoassets.

Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and BNY Mellon are among banks that plan to provide investment vehicles for bitcoin and ether, while London won its first bitcoin ETF earlier this year.

To contact the author of this story with comments or news, email Emily Nicolle

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