ESMA has published two statements highlighting ICO risks for investors and EU regulatory rules applicable to issuers and advisors involved with ICOs.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published two statements on Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) on 13 November 2017. The first statement is a warning to firms involved in ICOs that tokens issued via ICOs may be financial instruments, depending on how those tokens are structured. If that is the case, ICOs may involve firms carrying out regulated activities in the EU. The second statement highlights the speculative nature of ICOs, and the risks that some ICOs may pose to investors.