Italy's CONSOB Warns Crypto Influencers of EU Investment Rules After ESMA Factsheet Release

Italy amplifies esma finfluencer warning

Italy’s securities regulator Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB) repeated a European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) warning aimed at financial influencers, also called “finfluencers”. The ESMA factsheet, published in January 2026, explains when investment content on social media falls under European Union (EU) securities law. CONSOB’s press release repeats ESMA’s warning that promoting a financial product or service is not the same as promoting shoes or watches. The document targets content creators who discuss high-risk investments, including contracts for difference (CFDs), foreign exchange (forex), futures, crowdfunding offers, and volatile cryptocurrencies.

Investment advice, promotions and liability

The ESMA factsheet describes personalised investment suggestions as investment advice, which is a regulated investment service under EU law. Influencers who tell followers what to buy, sell, or hold give investment advice and need authorisation from a licensed investment firm. ESMA and CONSOB state that short labels such as “not investment advice” or “NFA” do not cancel this legal status. The guidance also requires clear disclosure of payments, gifts, or other benefits, using unambiguous terms such as “advertisement”, “sponsored”, or “paid collaboration”. Influencers must also state personal holdings when they already invest in the product discussed.

Promoting a financial product or service isn't like promoting shoes or watches. — European Securities and Markets Authority

High risk products and eu sanctions

The ESMA factsheet assigns a separate section to high-risk products such as CFDs, leveraged forex, futures, crowdfunding instruments, and crypto-assets with large price swings. The text states that investors can lose up to 100 percent of the money invested in these products. Under the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR), natural persons who manipulate markets or spread false information face administrative fines up to €5,000,000. Legal persons such as companies face fines up to €15,000,000 or 15 percent of annual turnover, whichever is higher. CONSOB links these sanctions to misleading or undisclosed promotions, including aggressive messages that promise fast profits without describing risk.

Consob enforcement track record and context

CONSOB has blocked 1,507 unauthorised investment websites since receiving blocking powers in 2019, including crypto-asset schemes. The same enforcement reports list 2,270 restricted web domains when individual pages are counted. In a separate case in 2022, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fined Kim Kardashian US$1.26 million for promoting EthereumMax tokens without disclosing a US$250,000 payment. These examples show concrete legal consequences for non-compliant financial promotion. For crypto influencers active in the EU, the ESMA factsheet and CONSOB warning summarise a regime where promotional posts trigger the same rules as traditional investment advertising.