Supreme Court Reiterates that Cryptocurrencies Are Financial Products in All Respects

Cryptocurrencies are for all intents and purposes financial products, possessing the proper characteristics of financial investment such as the use of capital, the expectation of return, and the risk involved. That was established by the Second Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court in its ruling No. 44378 of November 22nd, 2022.

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The cryptocurrencies purchasers assumed per se a risk related to the capital investment

In the text of the ruling, we read “that virtual currency must be considered as an investment instrument because it consists of a financial product, so it must be regulated with the rules on financial intermediation (art.94 ff. TUF), which guarantee through a unified discipline of special law the protection of investment; therefore, those who provide said services are obliged to raise the information obligations towards the consumer, in order to allow the same to know the contents of the economic-contractual transaction and to mature a meditated negotiation choice.”

In the case examined by the Court, it emerged that the buyers of cryptocurrencies had invested capital in order to obtain a return, consisting of the payment of other virtual currencies that would enable participation in the platform, the value of which would vary depending on the time of purchase and which would acquire greater value if the project related to the platform was successful. In this sense, the purchasers assumed per se a risk related to the capital investment.

Recall, moreover, that the European Union has proposed a supranational regulation, the MiCa – EU regulation on crypto-assets, with the aim of introducing a new system of rules that could finally ensure a homogeneous legislative approach on the subject. In fact, MiCA intends to regulate with precise rules digital instruments based on blockchain technology, “crypto assets,” entities that “issue” or “offer them to the public” (through so-called ICOs or Initial Coin Offers), and operators that offer services to store and/or exchange them.

After the Council of the European Union gave the green light a few months ago to the draft law on cryptocurrency markets, the process continued in the EU Parliament with the European Parliament Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) then voting in favor of the regulation on October 10th.

However, before the act can be published in the Official Journal of the European Union, it will have to be voted on in a plenary session of the European Parliament, probably during 2023.

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(Featured image by sergeitokmakov via Pixabay)

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First published in Crowdfunding buzz, a third-party contributor translated and adapted the article from the original. In case of discrepancy, the original will prevail.

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