Resolution no. 23452

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 websites https://tuxitu.com and https://tuxamity.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, as subsequently amended and supplemented;

HAVING REGARD to Legislative Decree no. 58 of 24 February 1998 ("Consolidated Law on Finance"), as subsequently amended and supplemented;

HAVING ESTABLISHED that, from checks on the web, it emerged that:

i. via the https://tuxitu.com and https://tuxamity.com websites, which are active and available in Italian, potential investors are offered the opportunity to trade digital currencies and derivatives on digital currencies through a trading platform;

ii. in order to trade, users must register with the https://tuxitu.com and https://tuxamity.comwebsites through a procedure that is also available to Italian users. Once users have completed the registration process, they can access the platform to trade on digital currencies and derivative contracts on digital currency: specifically, the two https://tuxitu.com and https://tuxamity.com websites - having similar content - state that "TUX's main product is an innovative trading platform, the TUX System, which integrates advanced artificial intelligence technology ... to help users make informed investment decisions ... using grid trading strategies" and that TUX’s scope of activities includes "innovative sectors such as ... cryptocurrency derivatives". These websites explain how users can trade ("users can simply click a button to activate our intelligent trading system without the hassle and long waits of manual trading") and earn ("TUX’s intelligent trading system helps users achieve consistent asset growth, with 50% of the profit generated by each transaction going to the user");

iii. as to traceability of the aforementioned transactions, the https://tuxitu.com and https://tuxamity.com websites contain references to "Tux" with its alleged registered office in Canada;

HAVING REGARD TO Resolution no. 23412 of 29 January 2025, whereby the order was given to cease the infringement of article 18 of the Consolidated Law on Finance conducted through the separate https://tuxtop.com, https://tux8.com, https://tuxail.com and https://tuxai.com websites;

WHEREAS the https://tuxitu.com and https://tuxamity.com websites have a domain that is partially superimposable to the domain of the https://tuxtop.com, https://tux8.com, https://tuxail.com and https://tuxai.com websites, as well as similar content and graphic format;

WHEREAS the activity carried out via the https://tuxitu.com and https://tuxamity.com websites is to be considered as provision of investment services, as referred to in Article 1, paragraph 5, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, as users are offered the opportunity, through the aforementioned domains, to register for and access the trading platform on which orders to buy and/or sell financial instruments can be placed;

WHEREAS the above activity, carried out via the https://tuxitu.com and https://tuxamity.com is still ongoing and is aimed at Italian investors, given that said websites are available in Italian and that no mechanism was found that blocked registration by users attempting to register on the website from Italy through Italian IP addresses; moreover, in relation to said websites, cold calling of Italian consumers has also been reported and complaints were received from Italian retail investors who reported that potential customers come into contact with said platform also through word of mouth and WhatsApp groups, in which they are invited to register and invite other users to do so;

WHEREAS the https://tuxitu.com and https://tuxamity.com websites cannot be attributed to any entity authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public;

HAVING REGARD to the fact that the provision of investment services and activities is reserved to licensed parties as referred to under article 18, paragraph 1, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, pursuant to which "The commercial provision of investment services and activities to the public is reserved to Italian investment firms, EU investment firms, Italian banks, EU banks and non-EU firms";

HAVING ESTABLISHED, therefore, that the activities in question qualify as the professional provision of investment services to the Italian public, in breach of Article 18, paragraph 1 of the Consolidated Law on Finance;

HAVING REGARD to the provisions of Article 7-octies, letter b) of the Consolidated Law on Finance - "Powers to counteract unauthorised provision of investment services" - pursuant to which Consob "may, with regard to anyone who offers or carries out investment services or activities over the Internet without being qualified to do so 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 art. 18 of Legislative Decree no. 58/98 performed through the websites https://tuxitu.com and https://tuxamity.com, consisting in the provision of investment services and activities to the Italian public.

This Resolution shall be brought to the attention of the concerned parties and 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.

4 March 2025

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona