Now that the new CNMV Circular on advertising on crypto-assets presented as investment objects is coming into force, alarming news is emerging that once again highlights the seriousness of the risk posed by these instruments.

Indeed, the CNMV Circular published in January now comes into force, which, curiously, deals with the advertising of assets that are not under the supervision of the CNMV itself. Indeed, crypto-assets that are already "financial instruments" (those that involve investing funds to finance a business, in exchange for a return on the activity carried out by that business) are already regulated, including their advertising. And therefore the Circular referred to deals with other cryptoassets, those that are not "securities", but which very many retail investors mistake for such: at final, and to put it bluntly, cryptocurrencies. These were originally created as a "means of payment", but have become for many an investment (or rather a speculation) instrument. The CNMV cannot regulate cryptocurrencies, because they are not technically "securities" subject to its supervision, but it does regulate their advertising because it affects the credibility and stability of the securities market (in general, of the financial system). And what this rule does is something obvious: it reminds us that the advertising must be truthful and clear, and must emphasise the great risks involved in "investing" in these cryptoassets: high volatility, lack of control over the training of their prices, no backing in Guarantee Funds, etc.

Several news items have emerged in recent days that only serve to highlight the risk posed by these investments. committee The Financial Stability Board (FSB) considers that cryptoassets may threaten financial stability, because although the value of their capitalisation is relatively low compared to that of classic financial instruments, the collapse of a large cryptocurrency could provoke a crisis of confidence in other types of assets. And this possible collapse may not be so distant if we take into account that the value of these cryptoassets is purely conventional, without any real asset backing: they are worth what is paid for them simply because there are people who are willing to pay for them, not because there is an underlying asset that justifies greater or lesser wealth. And another major danger is scams committed through fraudulent "intermediaries" (with cases such as Arbistar, Kuailian and MindCapital being under investigation). The height of these frauds has also been published in recent days: the CNMV itself has warned of the sending of mails impersonating its identity to offer the sale of cryptocurrencies to recipients (statement of the CNMV of 14 February). 

The problem is not only the high risk of volatility and possible fraud, but also the lack of regulation of cryptocurrencies and the lack of supervision of intermediaries in these markets. There is a regulatory project for the European Union (the so-called MiCA Regulation), presented at the end of last year, but until its approval (expected in two more years) we continue with an unregulated activity. Crypto-assets are not illegal or fraudulent per se, but their legality and other characteristics of these "crypto" markets (such as the anonymity of transactions, or the dependence on technologies that are not always sufficiently tested or immune to cyber-attacks) introduce too many factors of instability.

Many small investors look forward to these cryptocurrency trades as an alternative to investment products that are no longer as profitable as they once were. And it is possible that for many of them, such trading is an "anti-system" action, a protest against the classic "capitalist" financial mechanisms. Furthermore, it seems that the entities of credit also want to participate in this "sharing" of the cake and enter into the advisory and intermediation of crypto-asset trading (as announced recently by one of the main Spanish banks), which would give them a greater appearance of "seriousness". But the "yellowcard " that the CNMV showed to a well-known ex-football player for doing advertising for a certain crypto-asset intermediary is an example that not everything goes in these risky markets that lack regulation and supervision. Cryptoassets (and especially cryptocurrencies) constitute a "phantom threat" to the financial market, because without being part of it (they do not finance any business activity) they can have a strong impact on its credibility and stability.