CONSOB Warns Finfluencers: EU Rules Apply to ‘Get Rich Quick’ Crypto Promotions
Italy’s securities regulator CONSOB highlighted an ESMA factsheet reminding social‑media finance influencers that EU rules on investment recommendations and advertising fully apply to crypto. The guidance warns that promoting high‑risk products — including certain cryptocurrencies, CFDs, forex, futures and some crowdfunding — can lead to total loss of capital. Influencers remain legally responsible for posts even if they are not licensed finance professionals; paid partnerships must be clearly labelled as advertising and short disclaimers such as “not financial advice” do not remove regulatory obligations. CONSOB reiterated that giving personalised investment advice without a licence may constitute regulated advice and urged users to question unrealistic profit claims and verify platforms’ authorisation. The notice follows broader EU and UK measures to curb unauthorised crypto promotions (the UK FCA has outlined a crypto licensing timetable starting September 2026), reflecting intensifying regulatory scrutiny that raises compliance risks for crypto marketing and could reduce hype‑driven flows into speculative tokens. Traders should expect higher monitoring of promotional channels, greater legal exposure for influencers and platforms, and potential dampening of short‑term retail‑driven momentum in affected tokens.
Bearish
The notice increases regulatory risk around crypto promotion, which is likely to reduce hype-driven retail flows that often inflate prices of speculative tokens. Clearer enforcement of advertising and advice rules makes paid influencer campaigns costlier and riskier, diminishing a common short‑term demand engine. In the near term, affected tokens that rely on social-media publicity may see reduced volume and downward price pressure as marketing is scaled back or labelled and vetted. Over the longer term, stricter compliance could improve market quality by reducing misleading promotions and wash hype, which may be neutral or slightly positive for fundamentals but removes a source of rapid retail-driven rallies. Overall, immediate price impact is expected to be negative for speculative, influencer‑dependent tokens; established large‑cap coins with diversified demand are less affected.