Advertising and marketing rules for crypto.

The core of advertising rules, both under MiCA and general consumer protection, is that marketing must be fair, clear and not misleading. Among other things, this means past returns may not be presented as a guarantee of future performance, costs and risks may not be buried in small print, and a provider may not suggest it is licensed when it is not.

Advertising must also be proportionate to its audience. Content specifically targeting people without investment experience or financially vulnerable groups is judged more critically than general informational communication.

Under MiCA, advertisements for crypto-assets must include a warning that value can fluctuate and an investment can be lost. This warning must be clearly visible, not tucked away in small text at the bottom of a page or flashed briefly in a video ad.

Stablecoins often face additional requirements, since suggesting full stability can be misleading if underlying reserves are insufficient. Supervisors pay particular attention to advertising presenting stablecoins as a fully risk-free alternative to bank money.

Anyone posting about crypto in exchange for payment or tokens falls under the same fair-practice rules as a traditional advertiser. This means a collaboration must be clearly recognisable as advertising, for example labelled 'ad' or 'sponsored', and the influencer must not make misleading promises about returns or safety.

In practice this is an area supervisors in the Benelux watch closely, since crypto content on social media often reaches a young and relatively inexperienced audience. Missing a clear sponsorship label or promoting an unlicensed provider can trigger enforcement against both the influencer and the client.

The Netherlands and Belgium share the basic principles under MiCA, but Belgium also has longer-standing national rules that further restrict advertising for certain risky financial products. This can mean the same campaign needs adjusting for Belgium, for example a more extensive warning or a limit on the audience reached through certain channels.

For consumers the practical takeaway is that unusually slick or aggressive advertising, especially if it lacks a risk warning or promises unusual guarantees, is a signal to research further before sending money.