Rivista del Diritto Commerciale e del diritto generale delle Obbligazioni

Abstract: Consumer protection in the financial market of crypto-assets – The protection of consumers and users of payment tokens is the subject of a plurality of European disciplines. There is a need to understand whether and how these disciplines can be coordinated with each other. This article analyses the disciplines contained in the: (i) Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on consumer rights; (ii) Directive 2002/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2002 concerning the distance marketing of consumer financial services which will remain in force until 18 June 2026; (iii) Directive (EU) 2015/2366 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on payment services in the internal market and (iv) EU Regulation 2023/1114 of 31 May 2023 on markets in crypto-assets, and amending Regulations (EU) No 1093/2010 and (EU) No 1095/2010 and Directives 2013/36/EU and (EU) 2019/1937 (MiCAR). I believe that previous Directives and MiCAR are partly overlapping and partly complementary. In MiCAR the European legislator has deliberately followed, with regard to information obligations, the approach of the directives we have dealt with here.Compliance with MiCAR, therefore, determines, with reference to the profile of disclosure and form obligations, compliance also with the directives set up to protect (also) the consumer. At present, withdrawal remains governed by the consumer directives.  

Sommario: 1. I consumatori e i servizi finanziari digitali. – 2. Sulla non applicabilità al mercato finanziario della Direttiva 2011/83/UE del Parlamento europeo e del Consiglio del 25 ottobre 2011, sui diritti dei consumatori. – 3. Sull’applicabilità agli strumenti finanziari tokenizzati della Direttiva 2002/65/CE, del 23 settembre 2002, sulla commercializzazione a distanza di servizi finanziari. – 4. Le deroghe alla Direttiva 2002/65/CE introdotte dalla Direttiva 2015/2366/UE del 25 novembre 2015, relativa ai servizi di pagamento nel mercato interno. – 5. Il coordinamento delle discipline consumeristiche con il nuovo Regolamento UE 2023/1114 del 31 maggio 2023, relativo ai mercati delle cripto-attività.  

Keywords: Consumer protection — Distance marketing of financial services — Cryptocurrency — E-money tokens — Asset-referenced tokens — Crypto-assets — Right of withdrawal — White Paper — Retail-holder.