The Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (Consob) has announced the black-out of eight websites involved in the unauthorized offering of financial services or crypto-activities under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR). The announcement was made in a press release on March 20, 2025.
According to Consob, the black-out targets websites providing abusive financial services, including three that offer unauthorized financial intermediation and five that provide crypto services without proper authorization. This action utilizes powers granted by the "Growth Decree" (Decreto Crescita) and MiCAR regulations. The affected websites operate without necessary licenses or authorizations required by Italian law, particularly in financial intermediation and cryptocurrency services.
The websites subject to this enforcement include those operated by Monetizeer, Liberty Invested Limited, AlfacapitalCFD, AKQ, Fameexn, and ArgonInternational. Since July 2019, when Consob gained authority to block fraudulent financial websites, it has blocked a total of 1,260 such sites. The process of enforcing these black-outs is ongoing and may take several days for full implementation.
According to the European Union (EU), MiCA establishes uniform rules for crypto-asset issuers and service providers not covered by existing EU laws. It aims to ensure transparency, consumer protection, and market stability with specific obligations for different types of crypto-assets, including e-money and asset-referenced tokens. Effective from December 30, 2024, the regulation includes provisions on governance, disclosure, and preventing market abuse with oversight by EU authorities like the European Banking Authority (EBA) and European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).
Consob serves as Italy’s financial market regulator responsible for ensuring transparency and proper conduct among financial operators to protect the integrity of the financial system and safeguard investors. It monitors compliance with financial regulations to prevent misconduct and takes action when necessary. Consob ensures that investors have access to accurate information for informed investment decisions while promoting efficient financial trading.