The Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance ("MEF")
issued a new decree ("Decree") requiring that virtual
asset/currency service providers promptly enroll in a soon-to-be
established special section of the register held by Organismo
Agenti e Mediatori ("OAM"), with the aim of monitoring
cryptocurrency exchanges and implementing anti-money laundering
controls.
For quite some time, both national and international authorities
have kept an increasingly close eye on cryptocurrency markets,
although with limited intervention powers. On April 28, 2021, the
Bank of Italy and the Italian Securities and Exchange Commission
("Consob") issued a joint statement calling upon the
public and small savers to beware of the risks embedded in
"crypto-activities." Consob also issued tailor-made
sanctions when it found that certain services qualified as Markets
in Financial Instruments Directive ("MiFID") services
were provided without the required authorizations and licences by
using