Watch out for crypto-assets!

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Published on 08/10/2025

The European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) have issued a warning to consumers on the risks of crypto-assets. These three supervisory authorities highlight that crypto-assets are not all the same, they can be risky, and the level of protection - i.e. the rules, oversight, and safeguards in place - may be limited depending on the type of crypto-asset.

Crypto-assets are digital representations of value or rights, such as ownership of a piece of art, a sum of money in euros or dollars, or a financial instrument (like a share). They rely on cryptographic techniques to ensure data is secure and verifiable.

Consumers are advised to be particularly cautious when investing in crypto-assets or using services offered by providers based outside the European Union or by non-regulated providers.

For this reason, the European supervisory authorities have also released a joint information sheet on the EU regulation for the crypto-asset market (MiCA). The sheet explains what crypto-assets are, which ones are regulated and which are not, and the types of providers consumers may come across.

We've covered this topic in our own information sheet on crypto-assets and in a related news article.

If you are interested in crypto-assets, don't forget that investing in crypto-assets means:

• accepting the very real possibility of losing all the money invested;
• being exposed to misleading advertising, including via social media and influencers;
• being wary of promised returns, which are often fast and high - so much so that they may seem too good to be true!