German Market Regulator BaFin Issues Cease Order To UK Crypto Firm

The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) has issued an official statement on its website ordering the partial discontinuation of operations by the UK-based crypto firm Finatex Ltd.

Per the notice from BaFin, dated October 2, Finatex ltd have got to stop providing cross-border proprietary buying and selling on its Crypto-Capitals trading platform “immediately.”

Per BaFin’s Friday statement, the firm must terminate trading for the reason that German financial ruling, including the German Banking Act, doesn’t endorse its venture.

In a succinct narrative of the company’s actions, the financial regulator pointed out that Crypto-Capitals offer “options, contracts for difference (CFDs) on shares, indices, currencies and commodities.”

Consecutively, the company poses itself as a “premium cryptocurrency trading platform operator.” The company also obviously has no presence in any of the social networks mentioned on its website.

BaFin has in the past called on the cryptocurrency sector with public notices, focusing specifically on Initial Coin Offering (ICO). In late 2017, Germany’s foremost financial regulator cautioned speculators of the dangers of investing in ICO tokens, claiming that ICO investors themselves bear all related risks due to the industry’s “lack of legal requirements and transparency rules.”

BaFin clarified ICO issuers of their commitments in February of this year, after “increased queries” regarding ICO tokens, with operators particularly asking “whether the underlying tokens, coins or cryptocurrencies behind so-called ICOs are viewed as financial instruments within the area of securities supervision.”

In October, BaFin asked the global community to come forward and join with it in its efforts to regulate the ICO industry, despite doubts whether ICOs will stand as a “niche issue,” or turn into a “standard part of the financial economy.”

Likewise, in June 2018, BaFin’s President clarified that the main objective of the institution is to ensure financial stability and not protecting interests of retail investors.