Spanish regulators set precedent with crypto ad violations case

The National Securities Market Commission accuses Spanish technology provider Miolos of noncompliance with cryptocurrency regulations established in January 2022.

The principal financial regulator in Spain, the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), has opened its first case for violating crypto promotion rules in the country.

As reported in the press release from Nov. 8, CNMV initiated “sanctioning proceedings” against Miolos S.L for two “massive” advertisement companies in September and November 2022.

The Commission accuses Miolos of non-compliance with the cryptocurrency regulations established by the CNMV circular from January 2022. Specifically, the company didn’t put any risk warnings and didn’t submit its campaigns for the CNMV’s authorization. The circular obliges companies to provide promo materials for a check at least ten days before publication.

According to the press release, this is the first time CNMV opened sanctioning proceedings for non-compliance with crypto promotion regulations “to remind the public of the need to follow and respect them.” The Spanish regulator also reiterated the right of Miolos to defend itself against allegations.

Spain has said it intends to implement the first comprehensive European Union crypto framework, Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) even earlier than the deadline for EU member states to provide legal certainty and investor protection.

Meanwhile, stepping into the business of crypto promotion oversight, the country can draw some conclusions from the example of the United Kingdom. In the U.K., regulators’ eagerness to pursue the violations of the crypto promotion rules has led to a massive inability of businesses to comply with them and the departure of several major international players from the market.

At first, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) had to extend the technical deadlines for compliance to 2024 and then issue the “finalized non-handbook guidance,” once again clarifying the compliance requirements.

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