French Regulators Notice Uptick in Crypto-Related Complaints

French financial regulators have observed an increase in complaints regarding cryptocurrencies this year.

Investors in the country are increasingly filing complaints about digital currencies with France’s Financial Markets Authority (AMF) since January 2019, according to the AMF’s 2019 Risk Map report published on July 2.

Percentage of claims to AMF regarding crypto assets. Source: AMF     

The Risk Map analyzes the major factors that have an impact on the country's financial markets along with associated risks. 

At the same time, 2019 has reportedly seen a drop in the number of enquiries received by the AMF’s consumer contact center in regard to digital currency. The document further notes that investors continue to express interest in speculative products like binary options, foreign exchange, contracts for difference and crypto, despite the AMF’s efforts to limit the marketing of such products.

From 2016 to 2018, the AMF issued 118 warnings against crypto-related bad actors out of 154 warnings overall.

In its annual report released in May, the AMF noted a 14,000% surge in enquiries related to fraudulent cryptocurrency offers in 2018 as opposed to 2016. Specifically, the number of enquiries associated with crypto-related scams online surged to over 2,600 in 2018 from only 18 similar enquiries back in 2016.

A survey from Tokyo-based crypto exchange bitFlyer published in April showed that the majority of Europeans believe that crypto will exist in 10 years, wherein French respondents were more pessimistic about the future of crypto, with only 55% claiming that they believe in crypto in the long term.