Belgium’s Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) has updated its crypto blacklist.

According to an official statement made today, the government body has added seven crypto trading platforms to it.

Crypto Blacklist

The crypto blacklist is comprised of websites and/or platforms associated with fraud or that show signs of fraudulent behavior. Effectively, these websites are known to scam investors or seem suspicious.

The previous crypto blacklist was released in December 2018 and listed a total of 113 websites. Now, that list has grown to 120.

Vigilance

Despite the availability of the list and the continued efforts to warn investors against fraudulent sites, the financial authority said that it continues to receive complaints from traders who invested cryptocurrencies on fraudulent sites.

Further, the authority warned that the crypto blacklist is comprised of websites that it is aware of or that have been reported. It does not contain every possible scam out there as, most likely, many more are yet to be uncovered. As such, investors should reference the list but always remain vigilant.

“The regulator warned that the blacklist does not include all the companies that might be operating illegally in Belgium in the crypto industry.”

Risks of Crypto Investing

According to the Belgian financial authority FPS Economy, a study showed that in 2017, Belgian investors lost approximately $2.5 million USD to crypto scams. This equates to 4% of the total amount lost to crypto fraud cases with estimations nearing $152 million USD. Figures such as this highlight the importance of careful trading.