Markets
Italy Considers $5.4M Penalties Over Crypto Insider Trading: Report
Italy is reportedly considering increasing fines for crypto crimes as part of measures to reduce market manipulation.
ItalyGovernment considers tougher penalties for those manipulating crypto market, Reuters has learnedciting a draft decree.
The proposed legislation, if approved, would impose fines ranging from 5,000 to 5 million euros ($5,400 to $5.4 million) for crimes such as insider trading, unauthorized disclosure of inside information and market manipulation. The decree designates the Bank of Italy and market regulator Consob as the main supervisors of crypto activities, with a mandate to maintain financial stability and ensure the orderly functioning of markets.
At the start of 2023, the Bank of Italy underlines the need for a robust, risk-based regulatory framework around stablecoins, aimed at avoiding the potential worst-case scenario of a destabilizing “rush” on these digital assets. The financial regulator has particularly highlighted the need for regulatory attention, particularly towards stablecoin issuers, due to their close ties to decentralized finance.
Later, the Italian central bank announcement creating a supervisory environment in anticipation of Markets in Crypto-Asset Regulation (MiCA), the European Union’s upcoming regulatory standards for the crypto industry.
However, it remains to be seen whether this monitoring framework has been fully implemented. At that time, Ignazio Visco, then governor of the Bank of Italy, note that central bank surveys indicated that only about 2% of Italian households held “modest amounts, on average” of crypto, with Italian financial intermediaries’ exposure to the crypto market also very limited.