A top Dutch financial regulator, cryptocurrency He said derivatives trading should be limited to wholesale markets only.
The official’s statements were interpreted as Dutch controllers wanting to follow the UK’s footsteps to ban individual clients from trading virtual asset-based options and futures. However, the controllers do not yet have such authority.
“Crypto Market Open to Manipulations”
Paul-Willem van Gerwen, head of the Dutch Financial Markets Authority (AFM) Capital Markets and Transparency Supervision, said in a statement that he thinks cryptocurrency derivatives trading should be limited to wholesale trading.
Van Gerwen stated that the risks of the crypto market are not transparent and open to manipulation and other illegal activities.
Van Gerwen cited British supervisory FCA’s restrictions in 2020 that limited the derivatives market to professional financiers only, explaining that “no such step has yet been taken” in the Netherlands.
Especially after the UK’s departure from the European Union, Amsterdam had become a hub for many types of financial trading.
AFM Will Gain Authority Over The Cryptocurrency Market If MiCA Law Passes
AFM has already made recommendations to restrict retail trading in traditional financial instruments such as turbo leveraged products.
Although AFM does not currently have jurisdiction over crypto markets, it can dominate the crypto market if the European Union law called MiCA is passed.
Van Gerwen said he would like to see more experimental studies that show that distributed ledger technology (Blockchain) can reduce costs by supporting commerce.
However, Van Gerwen also stated that in case of disruption of transactions, central authorities will always be needed.
*Not investment advice.