Advertising crypto-assets in Spain has had its own rulebook since 2022: CNMV Circular 1/2022 requires standardised risk warnings, clear and balanced messaging, and prior notification of mass campaigns to the supervisor. It also reaches paid influencers. Running crypto ads without knowing it is not marketing: it is manufacturing enforcement files.
What Circular 1/2022 regulates
CNMV Circular 1/2022 applies to advertising aimed at investors in Spain that presents crypto-assets as an investment. Out of scope: crypto-assets that qualify as financial instruments (their advertising follows securities rules), pure utility tokens and singular non-financial NFTs — the usual boundary, which you can check with our MiCA or MiFID II classifier.
The three obligations that define a legal campaign
1. The mandatory warning. Every piece must include the standardised risk message — that investment in crypto-assets is not regulated, may not be suitable for retail investors and the entire amount invested may be lost — legibly formatted, with a link to extended risk information. Constrained formats (a banner, a story) get reduced versions, but the warning never disappears.
2. Clear, balanced, non-misleading content. Benefits cannot be highlighted while omitting risks; past performance promises nothing; urgency and exclusivity messaging is minefield territory.
3. Prior notification of mass campaigns. Campaigns aimed at more than 100,000 people must be notified to the CNMV at least 10 working days in advance, with creatives and media plan. The CNMV can demand changes — and does.
Influencers: yes, them too
The Circular expressly reaches people who, for remuneration, advertise crypto-assets to more than 100,000 followers: the warning and content rules apply to the post, the video and the story exactly as to a conventional ad. Both the brand and the influencer are on the hook.
What does MiCA change?
MiCA adds its own requirements to the marketing communications of issuers and authorised providers (consistency with the whitepaper, clear identification as advertising), which coexist with the Spanish Circular for investment advertising. In practice, a serious campaign in Spain is designed to satisfy both layers — and if the advertiser is a service provider, its own status comes into play, as we explain in our CASP licence guide.
Pre-launch checklist
Asset classification (is it investment advertising?); the standard warning on every piece and format; benefit/risk balance reviewed by someone who did not write the copy; a realistic reach count (over 100,000?) and, if so, prior CNMV notification with margin; influencer contracts with written obligations; and an archive of creatives and receipts. That is the standard we apply to our clients web3 marketing: growth without collecting enforcement letters.
This content is informational and does not constitute legal advice. If your crypto campaign needs regulatory fit as well as results, talk to us.