It’s Spain’s Turn. Spanish Regulator Warns Huobi And Others For Non-Registration

Regulators in various parts of the world are turning the heat on cryptocurrency exchanges operating without a license. This time, Spanish regulators have issued a warning to exchanges operating unregistered in the country.

Spanish Watchdog Issues A Warning To Unregistered Exchanges

Spain’s National Securities Market Commission has issued a warning to some cryptocurrency trading platforms operating in the country without a license. The companies have been warned that they are operating without getting approval from the regulator.

According to the warning issued to the companies, they could be sanctioned if they failed to register. “According to CNMV records, these institutions are not registered in the corresponding registry of this Commission and, therefore, are not authorised to provide investment services or other activities subject to the CNMV’s supervision,” the letter said.

The companies mentioned in the letter are; Huobi, Bybit, Dsdaq Market, Markets Cube, Expertise Trader, Markets EU, Profit Assist, Financial Resident, Liberty Sky, N2 Group and The Market Limited.

Huobi, Bybit, Dsdaq Market, Markets Cube and Expertise Trader are cryptocurrency trading platforms, while N2 Group is a crypto token issuer. The other companies run financial and investment operations in Spain.

The warning doesn’t imply that the Spanish regulator would ban the companies from operating in Spain. However, the SMC could appeal to the justice system to sanction the firms. Furthermore, the warning is to alert the consumers to the dangers of using unregistered financial markets operators.

Crypto Exchanges Are Coming Under Fire

Cryptocurrency exchanges are increasingly coming under fire. Binance is the exchange that has faced the toughest regulatory challenges in recent months. It began with the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) banned Binance Markets Limited from operating in the country. This resulted in some top banks like Santander, HSBC and Barclays blocking Binance payments.

Furthermore, Italian regulators have also warned Binance that it doesn’t have a license to operate in Italy. Malaysia has also banned Binance from operating, and the exchange is expected to cease operations over the coming weeks.

The cryptocurrency market has slightly retreated after a bullish weekend. Bitcoin’s price is currently down by 1.7%, and it is trading just above the $46k region. Analysts are optimistic about the short-term price performance of Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies.