The President of ESMA, the European Securities and Markets Authority, Steven Maijoor, has expressed his willingness to have a new crypto regulation.
In fact, in his opening speech at the FinTech Conference 2019, Steven Maijoor said:
“Where crypto-assets do not qualify as financial instruments (and unless they qualify as e-money as discussed in EBA’s report), we are concerned that the absence of applicable financial rules leaves consumers exposed to substantial risks.EU policymakers should therefore consider ways to address the risks in a proportionate manner“.
Considering that crypto assets are not always qualified as financial instruments and are not subject to the strict rules of control with regard to consumer protection, consumers have no means to protect themselves or to know if a project is legitimate.
In addition, Steven Maijoor continues by saying that ICOs should also have a dedicated regulation and that cryptocurrencies should respect the rules of anti-money laundering.
Most countries are trying to introduce new rules regarding the crypto world, not only in Europe but also in Russia, where Putin has given an expiry date: a crypto regulation must be in place by July 1st, 2019. The previous deadline had in fact been completely ignored by both the Duma and the Council of the Russian Federation.
