French regulator warns against illegal and unauthorized crypto firms
Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), France’s stock market regulator, is continuing its monitor of the crypto market, warning investors about illegal trading and unauthorized crypto services.
AMF had updated its web portal on October 1, identifying firms offering crypto and forex services through unauthorized entities. The list on its website includes four websites on cryptocurrency derivatives along with other 12 that are forex-related.
According to the regulator, the named entities have been offering services from potentially fraudulent investments. In order to protect investors from these, AMD and the French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (ACPR) has sought to regularly update the blocklist of unauthorized investment providers.
The authority has recommended that investors must strongly follow the updated list, especially the online register of financial providers and those under crowdfunding categories and advisors.
AMF’s latest warning had come at a time when Paris-based Melanion Capital had launched Bitcoin ETF in August. Melanion’s CEO, Jad Comair, was reported to have said that getting their funds approved by AMF had been “a real challenge” owing to “the sensibilities and politics surrounding Bitcoin and Bitcoin investing.”
Global authorities have been increasingly sounding alarm against unregulated crypto investments in the past few months.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission had advised its citizens in mid-August to invest only in crypto via financial institutions that hold the Australian Financial Services license.
According to research by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, cryptocurrency scams have generated 50 per cent of Australian investors’ losses in the first six months of 2021.
Governor of Bank of France, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, had also earlier this week urged Europe to prioritize crypto regulation framework due to the surging risks of digital assets as crypto is heavily challenging the current monetary sovereignty.
