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this subject area. Considering the risks associated with the digital assets transactions and the appropriateness of the regulatory framework, the European Commission will assess, by the fourth quarter of 2018, at what extend a regulatory action on an EU level is necessary.
In this context, last month the European Supervisory Agencies—EBA, ESMA and EIOPA— issued a coordinated warning to the consumers about the high risk of investment in virtual currencies associated with uncertainty in the regulation and their extreme volatility. This noti cation followed the alerts issued in November 2017 by ESMA to investors concerning the high risk of investing in ICOs and on the rules applicable to rms involved in ICOs.
Additional aspects to consider when analyzing digital assets include the impact of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) entering into force in May 2018, the eIDAS Regulation and the recent proposal to extend the scope of the Anti-Money Laundering Directive to virtual currency exchanges and wallet providers.
Finally, a further step forward in the regulation of digital assets and ICOs was taken outside the EU with the publication of the ICO Guidelines by FINMA (the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority) on February 16, 2016. The document complements the FINMA Guidance 04/2017 and provides further information and clari cation on how the authority aims to employ the nancial markets legislation by dealing with ICO organizers. (Dechert LLP Onpoint, Timothy Spangler and Ofellia Assa, 03/28/18)
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