Crypto
CONSOB blocks 23 crypto websites under MiCAR powers
On 7 May 2026, CONSOB, invoking Italy’s Legislative Decree No. 129/2024 under the MiCAR framework, directed Italian ISPs to disable access to 23 domains delivering and marketing unauthorised crypto-asset services to Italian investors, accor
2026-05-09 · 2 min
On 7 May 2026, CONSOB, invoking Italy’s Legislative Decree No. 129/2024 under the MiCAR framework, directed Italian ISPs to disable access to 23 domains delivering and marketing unauthorised crypto-asset services to Italian investors, according to the regulator’s press notice. Source: CONSOB Press Release
The order instructs ISPs to block access in Italy to the specified domains, a repeatable instrument the authority has used across financial scams and unlicensed offerings since 2019. This is an ISP-level access restriction, not a licensing or registration determination. Any platform that onboards or markets to Italian users without authorisation risks being named in a future blocking round. Promotions for crypto-asset services without the required permissions are within scope for enforcement via domain-level interdiction.
Firms targeting Italy should review acquisition and access controls. This includes auditing domain inventories for Italy-facing content, confirming geoblocking for Italian IPs where services are not authorised, and removing Italy-language marketing pages that imply availability of crypto-asset services to Italian residents. Compliance teams should document that no Italy-targeted marketing is live unless the underlying service holds the requisite authorisation and be prepared to field user-support workflows if Italian visitors lose access to cloned or mirror domains that share branding with legitimate sites.
The measures add to CONSOB’s site-blocking program against illegal financial activities. Since July 2019, the regulator has ordered 1,704 website blocks in total, of which 201 relate to crypto-asset activities. The latest tranche groups multiple domains under named schemes including “Patrimèra,” “Stream Herplex Nx,” “Aziovale,” “Portafica,” and “Epic Maxalt Neo,” with examples such as bircholtless.top, zenithad.top, marketpulsehubx.top, and elapidpcsf.cc listed in the press release.
The list structure in the press release signals CONSOB’s focus on clusters of interconnected domains under a single scheme label, which is consistent with prior rounds of its site-blocking program. This framing reduces the risk that only a single URL is neutralised while sister domains continue soliciting Italian users, creating a clearer evidentiary bundle for ISP implementation.
Italian users will see the listed domains blocked by their ISPs. The affected population includes Italian internet users attempting to reach the 23 listed domains and operators of sites offering unauthorised crypto-asset services or related marketing into Italy. The site-blocking order is effective from 7 May 2026 and applies to access within Italy, with the named domains specified in CONSOB’s press release.