French financial regulators have added a new batch of connected websites to their blacklist as they continue to identify illegal participants in the FX and crypto markets.
On December 21, the Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (ACPR) and the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), France’s stock market regulators, updated a blacklist of websites associated with illegal forex and cryptocurrency investments.
Only two of the 15 recently blacklisted websites explicitly reference cryptocurrencies in their names. These websites include cryptoneyx.io and 24cryptoforextrading.net.
The release claims that year over year, the AMF and ACPR have reported much fewer websites related to cryptocurrencies. Two websites in the category of crypto derivatives were blacklisted by the government in 2022, compared to 24 sites the previous year.
As opposed to 61 such websites in 2021, the regulators added a total of 49 names to the list of websites that are not permitted to offer currency investments.
Investors are warned by the AMF and ACPR to exercise caution and confirm the authenticity of intermediaries offering financial goods or services in France. Investors should examine the official registration of approved investment service providers and the list of permitted intermediaries in the crowdfunding or financial investment adviser categories, according to the regulators.
According to reports, the impending cryptocurrency winter will likely result in a sharp decline in the number of websites related to cryptocurrencies that the AMF will flag in 2022. Since November 2021, the market for cryptocurrencies has decreased by more than 70%, resulting in enormous losses for cryptocurrency investors.
As was previously said, the French government is well recognised for its friendly attitude toward the digital asset sector and has granted numerous approvals to significant international cryptocurrency enterprises. Major international cryptocurrency exchange Binance received authorization from the AMF to offer services relating to cryptocurrencies in France in May.