Cryptocurrencies

In view of frequent queries from the clients of securities dealers, the Investment Guarantee Fund cautions that investing into virtual currencies (cryptocurrencies) needs to be approached with care, taking into consideration all related risks. Virtual currencies are not proper national currencies, and thus they do not fall under the guarantee scheme set up by the Investment Guarantee Fund. Their use is neither regulated nor overseen by EU central banks or the European Central Bank. For this reason, any unavailability of client assets containing virtual currency is excluded from the protection of the Investment Guarantee Fund. Investing into virtual currencies therefore needs to be weighed carefully.