Ombudsman Receives Complaints About Crypto Investments in Spain

The Spanish ombudsman has been receiving complaints about cryptocurrency and how some Spanish citizens investing in these vehicles have lost everything. In his annual report, Angel Gabilondo recognized the rise of cryptocurrencies as a new problem due to the little or no regulation crypto sees in the country. In the same way, the EU has also warned about these assets recently.

Angel Gabilondo, the Spanish ombudsman, has given his take regarding cryptocurrencies and the effects they have on citizens investing in some of these projects. Gabilondo said in his yearly report that cryptocurrencies have become “a new problem” during the year examined, with many people having lost all of their funds invested.

The report states:

Cryptocurrency exchange companies or platforms are not regulated in the legal system, are not subject to any public supervision system, nor do they benefit from deposit guarantee systems.

The affected users that sought the support of the ombudsman office were referred to a 2018 joint release issued by the Bank of Spain and the CNMV, the securities regulator in the country, that alerted about the risk of using cryptocurrency assets as investments.

The report also states that the current reclamation systems are too inefficient to offer protection to the users of financial products, something that has prompted the institutions to accelerate the creation of the Financial Customer Protection Authority, directed to help customers in trouble with financial institutions. The proposal was made last year, and the law to cement its creation will be published in May, according to local sources.

This negative view of crypto assets is shared by several European institutions that have recently warned about the use of cryptocurrencies. Just last week, the EU supervisory authorities issued a statement explaining that cryptocurrencies “are not suited for most retail consumers as an investment or as a means of payment or exchange.” Furthermore, the warning also informs that “consumers face the very real possibility of losing all their invested money if they buy these assets.”

However, European users must still wait until the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) law proposal is approved in the future to have a clear picture of the future of cryptocurrencies and their regulation on the continent.

What do you think about the answer that the ombudsman in Spain has given to cryptocurrency investors? Tell us in the comments section below.