Italy’s CONSOB puts ‘finfluencers’ on notice amid ESMA’s crypto risk warnings

Italy’s securities regulator has shared the ESMA’s finfluencer factsheet, warning social media promoters that EU rules on investment recommendations and advertising apply to crypto.

Italy’s securities regulator, the Commissione Nazionale per le Societa e la Borsa (CONSOB), has amplified a new factsheet from the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), warning social media finance influencers, or “finfluencers,” that European Union rules on investment recommendations and advertising apply fully to crypto and “get rich quick” content.

In a Monday communication, CONSOB highlighted the ESMA’s finfluencers document, published on Thursday, which warns creators that “promoting a financial product or service isn’t like promoting shoes or watches.”

Pushing contracts for difference (CFDs), forex, futures, certain crowdfunding products, and volatile cryptocurrencies can, according to the communication, mean losing 100% of invested capital, and influencers remain legally responsible for what they post, even if they are not finance professionals. 

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