Austria’s Regulator Alerts Public to Unlicensed Cryptocurrency Broker

The Financial Markets Authority (FMA), Austria’s ‎financial watchdog, today updated its warning list to ‎include The Crypto Genius, a provider of trading products ‎and services, for carrying out unlicensed financial ‎activities, according to a recent regulatory statement.‎

The FMA‎ has clarified that the ‎company in ‎question does not, in fact, have any valid license of any ‎kind, ‎stating that The Crypto Genius is not authorized to provide ‎‎investment services or activities in the country.‎

The financial watchdog today updated its warning list by ‎blacklisting the firm which facilitates trading in digital currencies, Forex Forex Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Read this Term, ‎commodities, stocks, among other ‎asset classes.‎

This warning is yet another case in which Austrian‎ ‎authorities seem to have ‎stepped up their game and have ‎gone after illegal cryptocurrency brokers. ‎

Based on this, the FMA warns the public not to invest with‎ The Crypto Genius, and to be cautious of dealing with its ‎solicitations. The company is not registered as a legitimate ‎provider in Austria and is therefore not allowed to offer ‎financial services in the country.‎

The FMA is an integrated supervisory authority ‎established in 2002. It brings together the supervision of ‎all financial providers and functions in Austria under a ‎single roof. The regulator is focused on identifying and ‎blacklisting any individual or entity that is operating in ‎Austria without a license or authorization, where that is ‎required by law.‎

The FMA updates the public by means of warnings and ‎alerts when it believes that investors may be at risk. ‎Businesses and individuals are named on this list if they ‎are not registered to provide financial services in Austria ‎and/or had the FMA enforce action against them for ‎misconduct.‎