Resolution no. 22384

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 performed through the website https://btcoingroup.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 checks on the internet ascertained that:

i. the https://btcoingroup.com website – which is active, registered anonymously and also available in Italian – offers the opportunity to make "commission-free investments" on forex, shares, CFDs, cryptocurrencies and commodities;

ii. as to the traceability of the site, there is a reference in the "Contact Information" section to "BTCoin Group" with its alleged headquarters in "Nordstr. 14 32051 Herford Deutschland" and email address info@btcoingroup.com;

WHEREAS the activity carried out through the https://btcoingroup.com website is deemed to constitute the provision of investment services, pursuant to article 1, paragraph 5, of the Consolidated Law on Finance, given that users are offered the opportunity, through said domain, to open a trading account where they can place orders to buy and/or sell financial instruments;

WHEREAS such activity, carried out through the https://btcoingroup.com website, is ongoing and is aimed at Italian investors, since said domain is available in Italian;

WHEREAS the abovementioned domain cannot be attributed to any party 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 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 article 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 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 https://btcoingroup.com website, 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.

27 June 2022

THE CHAIRMAN
Paolo Savona