EMEA Daily: eCommerce Car Retailer Cazoo Moves Into Italian Market

In today’s top stories from Europe, the Middle East and Africa, online car retailer Cazoo has moved into Italy with its eCommerce car-buying and -selling platform.

Also, Swiss regulators are looking into more protections for crypto investors in the country, cryptocurrency Tether is aiming for a stablecoin linked to the British pound, and TikTok has agreed to improve consumer rights in the EU.

Swiss Regulators Want More Protections for Crypto Investors

Switzerland’s top market regulator pushed for the government to do more to protect cryptocurrency investors from abuse in the $890 billion market that’s been plummeting for weeks, according to a Reuters report.

The call to action is the latest move by regulators and policymakers to protect crypto investors. U.S. securities watchdogs have warned about the potential for manipulation of the markets, the report noted.

“There’s much more that can be done,” Urban Angehrn, CEO of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, said at a conference in Zurich. “It would seem to me that a lot of trading in digital assets looks like the U.S. stock market in 1928, where all kinds of abuse, pump and dump, are now in fact frequently common.”

Online Car Retailer Cazoo Rolls Into Italy

Cazoo, which calls itself “Europe’s leading online car retailer,” is adding Italy to the list of countries in which it operates.

The company announced that Italian customers can now complete the shopping and buying process online, prompting some observers to refer to it as “the Amazon of the used car market.”

So far, Cazoo’s website for Italy lists 875 cars for sale. Prices range from a Peugeot 108 listed for the equivalent of $8,021 to a Mercedes GLC for the equivalent of $45,427.

Tether to Peg New GBPT Stablecoin to British Pound

Tether, an early player in the development of stablecoins, has announced the scheduled launch of a new coin whose value will be pegged to the British pound.

The GBPT token, which joins a Tether lineup that already includes cryptocurrencies tied to the U.S. dollar, Chinese yuan, Mexican peso and euro, will be available in July. It will use the Ethereum blockchain.

Stablecoins are popular with investors as ways to benefit from some of the strengths of crypto — easy transfers, for example — without being exposed the volatility associated with the untethered currencies.

TikTok Agrees to Improve EU Consumer Rights, Avoiding Potential Sanctions

TikTok will be boosting protections aimed to help children avoid persuasive ads on the platform.

TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, has faced several complaints from various EU consumer groups, and the company faced the possibility of sanctions.

In 2021, the European Consumer Organization (BEUC) said that TikTok has “failed” to protect children from “hidden advertising and inappropriate content.” Following this, the company had multiple meetings with both consumer groups and the European Commission to find solutions.