European Regulator ESMA Could ‘Ultimately’ Regulate ‘Some’ ICOs

Europe's top markets watchdog said it could regulate some ICOs, but would decide whether it was able to or not on a case-by-case basis. Paris-based ESMA, observing a rapid growth in ICOs globally and in Europe, said many digital tokens could fall outside the regulated space, but depending on how they are structured, some ICOs may involve regulated investments.

Steven Maijoor, chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), told the European Parliament’s economic affairs committee that “some of these ICOs are like a financial instrument. Once it is a financial instrument it comes under a whole regulatory framework.”

The European watchdog warned last year that investors might be unaware of the high risks that they are taking when investing in what has been a red-hot investing scene of late. Another key risk cited by the regulator stemmed from the fact that ICOs investors cannot benefit from the protection that EU laws and regulations provide.

However, the ESMA is largely limiting itself to taking enforcement actions against ICO operators at present, though the agency’s head said it might step up its Regulation Regulation Like any other industry with a high net worth, the financial services industry is tightly regulated to help curb illicit behavior and manipulation. Each asset class has its own set of protocols put in place to combat their respective forms of abuse.In the foreign exchange space, regulation is assumed by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, though ultimately lacking a binding international order. Who are the Industry’s Leading Regulators?Regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority ( Like any other industry with a high net worth, the financial services industry is tightly regulated to help curb illicit behavior and manipulation. Each asset class has its own set of protocols put in place to combat their respective forms of abuse.In the foreign exchange space, regulation is assumed by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, though ultimately lacking a binding international order. Who are the Industry’s Leading Regulators?Regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority ( Read this Term of the space more broadly in the nearest future.

“The subsequent question is what do we do with those ICOs that are outside the regulatory world. We will assess that as a board. We expect to report by the end of the year,” Maijoor added.

Rules Vary, but All Regulators Are Cracking Down

Although it is hard to generalize the attitude towards cryptocurrency across Europe, some major countries – including in France and Germany – have repeatedly called for more discussions on the topic.

Rules vary wildly by country because of the lack of pan-European legislation. But overall, local regulators across Europe are cracking down on trading venues that lack permission to offer brokerage services. In this context, ESMA has already proposed restrictions on cryptocurrency CFDs for retail investors, including lowering the maximum Leverage Leverage In financial trading, leverage is a loan supplied by a broker, which facilitates a trader in being able to control a relatively large amount of money with a significantly lesser initial investment. Leverage therefore allows traders to make a much greater return on investment compared to trading without any leverage. Traders seek to make a profit from movements in financial markets, such as stocks and currencies.Trading without any leverage would greatly diminish the potential rewards, so traders In financial trading, leverage is a loan supplied by a broker, which facilitates a trader in being able to control a relatively large amount of money with a significantly lesser initial investment. Leverage therefore allows traders to make a much greater return on investment compared to trading without any leverage. Traders seek to make a profit from movements in financial markets, such as stocks and currencies.Trading without any leverage would greatly diminish the potential rewards, so traders Read this Term that companies can offer.

The European Union has previously proposed that cryptocurrency service providers be brought under the scope of its anti-money ‎laundering and countering terrorist financing regulations.‎

At the national level, the French government announced in April tax cuts on revenues generated by cryptocurrency transactions, reducing the high-band rate from ‎‎45 to 19 percent.‎