Fraudsters exploit MiCA wind-down to impersonate EU regulators
Regulation & Gov ·
France's markets watchdog says criminals are posing as its own officials to push customers of unlicensed crypto firms toward fake websites.
European regulators have flagged a wave of impersonation schemes tied to the fallout from the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation deadline, which passed on July 1. Firms that failed to secure a MiCA license by that date are now barred from operating legally in the bloc, and only 323 companies had made it onto the European Securities and Markets Authority's register by the end of July, according to Decrypt. Estimates cited in the same report put the number of firms forced to shut down EU operations at more than 1,700.
That gap between licensed and unlicensed operators has created conditions scammers are exploiting. France's Autorité des Marchés Financiers has documented instances of fraudsters impersonating its staff and directing customers of unlicensed platforms to transfer holdings to counterfeit sites. An AMF executive director described the current period as an unusually favorable window for such schemes, since large numbers of customers are being pushed to rapidly relocate funds to unfamiliar providers.
ESMA separately confirmed it is dealing with unauthorized use of its logo and identity, including fabricated documents circulated to lend legitimacy to scams. In the Netherlands, the Autoriteit Financiële Markten has told traders to treat unsolicited requests to move funds with suspicion and to confirm any instruction against a provider's official app or website. The pattern of regulator impersonation across multiple EU member states is also detailed in reporting from The Block.
Rather than impose a hard deadline for unlicensed firms to exit the French market, the AMF has opted against manufactured urgency, arguing that time pressure is itself what drives people into scammers' hands, and has instead urged customers to take a deliberate approach to choosing a new provider. The regulator said it will refer impersonation cases involving itself or licensed firms to law enforcement.
The scale of the broader problem is significant: Chainalysis estimates crypto scam and fraud losses reached $17 billion last year, up from $6 billion in 2020, with impersonation ranked among its fastest-growing fraud categories. Binance, the largest firm still without a MiCA license, withdrew its application in Greece in June and has said it will pursue authorization elsewhere, while Spain's regulator ruled out extending the deadline. How many additional customers will be targeted before the market consolidates around licensed providers, and whether other national regulators will report similar impersonation cases, remains unclear.