Belgium’s Watchdog Warns against Cryptocurrency Platforms

Belgium’s financial watchdog, the Financial Services and Markets Authority ‎‎(FSMA), today said it continues to receive new complaints of consumers who have invested in cryptocurrencies. The watchdog, therefore, has updated its warning against the unauthorized activities of multiple ‎cryptocurrency platforms that are offering investments in the country without ‎complying with Belgian financial legislation.‎

The investor alert represents the FSMA‎’s latest effort to police the rampant internet-based ‎cryptocurrency schemes which operate into a zone that the ‎watchdog regulates.

Join the Leading Industry Event!

The warning also comes as European finance ministers are scheduled to discuss cryptocurrency this week to investigate benefits and risks, and consider how the new assets should be regulated. The Eurogroup meeting in Vienna on September 7 will discuss a fresh round of regulatory scrutiny on the cryptocurrency space.

Other European regulators have also been skeptical about ‎cryptocurrencies and see them as a threat to financial stability.‎ The UK FCA has recently warned against unregistered brokerage firms that appear to be offering cryptocurrency-related derivatives in the country.

Based on its investigation, the FSMA said the scheme often includes these firms offering ‎investment contracts and requiring their interested investors to deposit their money to a bank account or ‎through other methods, while promising little or no financial risks.

The FSMA said it has received numerous complaints about cryptocurrency platforms as many of their clients didn’t recover the funds they invested, or simply have heard nothing further from the company after investing their money.‎

To get the protections offered by the securities laws when trading digital assets, investors should ‎use a platform or entity registered with the FSMA, the regulator said.

The latest additions are:‎

www.1st-cryptobank.com
www.bitc-international.com
www.boursebitcoin.com
www.ccg-investment.com
www.crownmanagers.com
www.crypto.bnd-group.com
www.crypto-access.com
www.cryptofrancecapital.com
www.cryptorama-bank.com
www.cryptos-marketplace.com
www.cryptowallet24.com
www.e-cryptoney.com
www.ecrypto-international.com
www.emarketstrade.com
www.executivecrypto.com
www.fair-oakscrypto.com
www.fast-coin.eu
www.globalmarkets-group.com
www.ldc-crypto-com
www.lgsinvestpartners.com
www.london-exchange.com
www.minedecrypto.com
www.mondial-investissement.com
www.placementcrypto.com
www.primecryptobank.com
www.truetrade-capital.com
www.vechain-wallet.com
www.wallet-coins.com

Based on this, the FSMA strongly advises against responding to any offers ‎of financial or recovery services made by the companies listed above and ‎against transferring money to any account number they might mention.‎