Italian Financial Regulator Warns Against Three Unauthorized Crypto Firms
The National Commission for Companies and the Stock Exchange (CONSOB), Italy’s financial regulator, has warned against three unlicensed cryptocurrency companies.
Earlier this week, CONSOB entered separate cease and desist orders against foreign currency broker Richmond Investing, initial coin offering token issuer Crypton and bitcoin trading platform Eagle Bit Trade. The regulator said these companies were neither licensed nor authorized to provide crypto-related services.
Richmond Investing provides online trading services via its brand and website richmondinvesting.com. It provides its services through a trading platform/electronic system for online trading on the investment market, including forex, CFDs and cryptocurrency. The CONSOB said the company has been offering unauthorized investment services, while promising investors high returns within a short period of time.
Crypton claims to provide passive income in the form of Proof-of-Stake mining, that is available to all holders of the Crypton coin. The regulator said the company’s ICO is unlicensed and suspended the firm from offering its token to the public for 90 days.
Eagle Bit Trade was blacklisted for encouraging investors to use its “so-called trading packages” to transact in cryptocurrencies. The company has no retailable products or services, with affiliates only able to market Eagle Bit Trade affiliate membership itself. Eagle Bit Trade affiliates invest $97 to $6,997 on the promise of an 8.5 percent weekly ROI. According to its website, Edson Junior is the company’s President, but aside from this, visitors won’t find anything else.
The Italian regulator follows in the footsteps of other European authorities which have recently taken serious steps to curtail crypto-related activities and stem the flow of unregulated and non-compliant companies. Earlier this year, Brussels-based think tank Bruegel urged EU ministers to step up their scrutiny on how cryptocurrencies were distributed to investors.
