European unionThe supervisors of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), European Banking Authority (EBA) and European Insurance and Pensions Authority (EIOPA) issued a joint statement, the authorities warned consumers about the risks of crypto assets in their statement.
“Consumers may also face the possibility of losing all their invested money if they buy these assets (crypto-assets),” the statement said.
The vast majority of crypto assets appear to be unsuitable for private consumers “as an investment, a means of payment and/or exchange,” according to the authorities. “Consumers should always be mindful of the risks of misleading advertising, including through social media and influencers/phenomena. Especially fast or promising high returns crypto assetsThey should be wary of.”
In the statement, it was noted that the energy consumption of consumers to produce some crypto assets is quite high and they are aware of the environmental impacts of this.
It was also commented that crypto-assets, related products and services often fall outside the protection under current EU financial service rules, and consumers should be aware that the products offered to them are unprotected in this regard.