Austria’s financial regulator calls for tougher regulation of cryptocurrencies

The cryptocurrency industry in Austria needs stricter regulation amid rising fraud activity. This is stated in a statement from the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA).

278 reports on the FMA whistleblower platform in 2020 👉 more than half concern investment fraud, particularly with crypto assets #Whistleblower #Achtung #Kryptohttps://t.co/tzvyNe5vkA

— Financial Market Authority (@FMA_AT) February 18, 2021

In 2020 the FMA registered 278 reports of potential financial fraud. Two-thirds of them were related to cryptocurrencies.

According to the authority, scammers used platforms such as Facebook, Telegram and TikTok to promote their schemes.

“We see a strong need for tighter regulation. Fake offers for stocks and gold have always existed, but now scammers have shifted to digital assets,” said FMA spokesperson Klaus Grubelnik.

CipherTrace analysts estimated the total losses from cryptocurrency scams and hacks in 2020 at $1.9 billion.

The FMA has previously required digital-asset–related firms to obtain licenses and comply with the European Union’s Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD).

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