The General Inspector of Financial Information would like to draw special attention to the risk associated with acquisition and trading of virtual currencies (including crypto-currencies) through entities headquartered outside the territory of Poland and other Member States of the European Union, and which are offering the aforesaid service.

The trading of virtual currencies (including crypto-currencies) and other crypto-assets through entities offering such services, which are headquartered outside the territory of Poland and other Member States of the European Union, is not regulated or supervised in Poland and also in other Member States of the European Union. The above-mentioned entities are not obligated institutions within the meaning of the Act of 1 March 2018 on Counteracting Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (Journal of Laws of 2020 item 971, as amended) and they are not subject to the provisions of this Act. They may also be registered in countries, which did not implement standards, equivalent to the European Union provisions, related to counteracting money laundering and financing of terrorism, which increases the risk of their abuse for money laundering and financing of terrorism purposes. Using services of these entities may pose much greater risk for customers of becoming a victim of fraud or extortion of funds. Investing in trading of crypto-currencies is also associated, inter alia, with the risk of their relatively large exchange rate fluctuations.

The communications issued by UKNF, containing warnings about fraudsters claiming to be supervised by the KNF in relation to the crypto-currency exchange transactions and risks associated with the acquisition and trading of crypto-assets (including cryptocurrencies) - links below:

• https://www.knf.gov.pl/komunikacja/komunikaty?articleId=70400&p_id=18

https://www.knf.gov.pl/komunikacja/komunikaty?articleId=72242&p_id=18