Zbigniew Jacek Wilinski, Director of the FinTech Department at the UKNF, spoke on the WallStreet conference panel titled ‘New regulations on crypto-assets: what should retail investors know?’. The panel was hosted by Michał Żuławiński of the Association of Retail Investors.

Zbigniew Jacek Wiliński emphasised that MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) Regulation introduced uniform rules regulating the crypto-asset market in the EU. The classification of specific crypto-assets affects the scope of regulations. Consumer protection is at the heart of the new rules. The MiCA Regulation refers to this objective by regulating, among others:

• transparency and disclosure requirements for the issuance;
• rules for authorisation of crypto-asset service providers, issuers of asset-referenced tokens and issuers of e-money tokens, as well as supervision of their activity;
• measures for the protection of holders of crypto-assets in the issuance, offer to the public and trading, as well as for the protection of clients of crypto-asset service providers;
• measures to prevent insider dealing, unlawful disclosure of inside information and manipulation in the crypto-asset market.

The MiCA Regulation mitigates certain risks typical of the unregulated crypto-asset market by referring to the standards known from traditional financial markets. It does not, however, eliminate all investment, technological or systemic risks. Investors should be aware that purchasing crypto-assets involves uncertainty and the risk of losing the capital in full or in part, even in the environment of enhanced regulations,’ Zbigniew Jacek Wiliński emphasised. ‘Whatever you are investing in, you must first understand what you are investing in, and diversify your investments to avoid loss,’ he added.