Resolution no. 22118

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 www.gate.io, www.gateio.rocks and www.gateio.ws websites

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, it emerged that:

v. the www.gate.io, www.gateio.rocks and www.gateio.ws websites have the same contents and graphic format;

vi. the aforementioned websites are available in Italian and offer, among other things, the opportunity to trade futures with cryptocurrencies as the underlying assets;

vii. in order to be able to trade via the www.gate.io, www.gateio.rocks and www.gateio.ws websites, users must register and open an account and deposit the necessary funds. Users already registered with one of the three websites in question can access the reserved area of the other two sites using the same credentials chosen when registering with the first one;

viii. the www.gate.io, www.gateio.rocks and www.gateio.ws websites mention the company Gate Technology Corp, with stated address at the Marshall Islands;

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the www.gate.io, www.gateio.rocks and www.gateio.ws websites 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 sell orders for financial instruments can be issued;

WHEREAS the aforementioned activity, carried out by Gate Technology Corp via the www.gate.io, www.gateio.rocks and www.gateio.ws websites, is still ongoing and aimed at Italian investors, insofar as the aforesaid websites are available in Italian;

WHEREAS gate Technology Corp, mentioned on the websites, is not authorised to provide investment services to the Italian public, insofar as it does not appear on the register kept by Consob pursuant to article 20 of the Consolidated Law on Finance;

HAVING REGARD TO the requirement to hold a relevant licence in order to provide investment services, as per article 18, paragraph 1, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, pursuant to which "The professional 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 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 article 7-octies, letter b) of the Consolidated Law on Finance - "Powers to counteract abusive practices" - 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 article 18 of Legislative Decree no. 58/1998 carried out through the www.gate.io, www.gateio.rocks and www.gateio.ws websites, consisting in offering and providing 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.

16 December 2021

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona