In the wake of increased publicity for cryptocurrencies, Finnish regulators have issued a formal notification. On Wednesday, the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) stated:
“Only registered virtual currency providers can trade virtual currencies and related services in Finland. The trading of virtual currencies in Finnish and in Finland is only allowed to entities registered as providers of virtual currencies in Finland. “
Finland is a very free country economically; it ranks 17th on the Index of Economic Freedom. However, as LocalBitcoins CEO Sebastian Sonntag told Cointelegraph upon receiving the company’s FSA license in 2019:
“Controls in the financial sector are of a particularly high quality, and the position of clients is well protected.”
It appears that the FSA wants to protect investors, especially retailers, who are more likely to be swayed by marketing activities. If the 2020-2021 bull run meme mania is any guide, there will be more retail FOMOs around the world in the future.
The FSA statement is a direct response to the increased commercialization of digital currencies and related services in Finland. The Finnish media has observed an increase in the traffic of articles on cryptocurrencies, while in a recent editorial in the Helsinki Times newspaper, the writers concluded that cryptocurrencies are all the rage in Finland and that they will remain popular for years to come.
Elsewhere in Finland, local adoption of cryptocurrencies is brewing. Finnish esports company Elisa Esports announced a partnership with cryptocurrency company Coinmotion to bolster the Nordic esports scene.
Nevertheless, the list of Supervised Entities operating in the cryptocurrency and digital currency space is still small. There are less than 10 registered companies, so the recent notification may be a forecast of future regulation and the evolution of the regulatory landscape.
Essentially, the FSA cannot advise Finnish clients to visit foreign websites. The recent initiative also does not affect advertising on international websites that are not explicitly directed at Finnish citizens.
Consequently, While regulators take care of the local market, Finnish crypto advocates can continue to visit international cryptocurrency websites.
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