Resolution no. 21324

Order, pursuant to article 7-octies, paragraph 1, letter b) of Legislative Decree no. 58/1998 ('Consolidated Law on Finance') to cease the infringement of article 18 of the Consolidated Law on Finance carried out through the website https://capitalcoinx.com

LA COMMISSIONE NAZIONALE PER LE SOCIETÀ E LA BORSA
[THE NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR COMPANIES AND THE STOCK EXCHANGE]

HAVING REGARD TO Law no. 216 of 7 June 1974 and subsequent amendments and supplements;

HAVING REGARD TO Legislative Decree no. 58 of 24 February 1998 ('Consolidated Law on Finance') and subsequent amendments and supplements;

HAVING ESTABLISHED that, from checks on the website https://capitalcoinx.com, it emerged that:

i. the website is active and partially available in Italian (in particular, the registration page is available in Italian);

ii. the website allows trading transactions on CFDs concerning shares, indices, commodities and cryptocurrencies after registration and opening of an account also available to Italian users;

iii. in order to perform trading transactions, a cash investment is required, to be paid into an account opened online; in particular, there are four types of account called 'Micro', 'Standard', 'Premium' and 'VIP', also depending on the minimum deposit required and the benefits promised;

iv. at the bottom of the website's homepage there is a statement affirming that "Capitalcoinx is operated from Direct Coin Limited (formerly Arka Trade)" and the same company is also mentioned in the "Terms & Conditions" section;

v. in the section called "Contact Us" there are references to an address in the United Kingdom, an e-mail address, a telephone number (with a non-Italian dialling code) and a form to request information;

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the website https://capitalcoinx.com can be classed as the provision of investment services as referred to in article 1, paragraph 5, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, insofar as clients are offered the opportunity of opening a trading account against which purchase and/or sale orders for financial instruments can be issued;

WHEREAS the aforementioned activities, performed through the website https://capitalcoinx.com, are still ongoing and are directed to Italian investors, given that the website is partially available in Italian, and there have been reports of unsolicited telephone calls ('cold calling') to the Italian public;

WHEREAS “Direct Coin Limited”, mentioned within this website, is not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, since it does not appear on the dedicated register held by Consob pursuant to art. 20 of the Consolidated Law on Finance;

HAVING REGARD TO the fact that the provision of investment services and activities is reserved for authorised entities as referred to under art. 18, paragraph 1, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, pursuant to which, 'The professional provision of investment services and activities for the public is reserved for investment firms and banks';

HAVING ESTABLISHED, therefore, that the operations in question qualify as the professional provision of investment services to the Italian public, in infringement of art. 18, paragraph 1, of the Consolidated Law on Finance;

HAVING REGARD TO the fact that, according to the provisions of art. 7-octies, letter b) of the Consolidated Law on Finance - 'Powers to counteract abuse' - Consob 'may, with regard to anyone who offers or carries out investment services or activities through the Internet without being qualified pursuant to this decree: […] b) order that the infringement cease';

CONSIDERING it therefore necessary, in the light of the foregoing, to adopt this resolution immediately for reasons of urgency;

RESOLVES:

To order the cessation of the infringement of article 18 of Legislative Decree no. 58/98 carried out through the website https://capitalcoinx.com, consisting in offering and providing investment services and activities to the Italian public.

This Resolution shall be brought to the attention of those whom it concerns and will be published in the Consob Bulletin.

This measure may be appealed before the Regional Administrative Court of Lazio within 60 days of the date of service.

April 7, 2020

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona