On December 21, European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) published a notice of its decision to renew the prohibition on the marketing, distribution or sale of binary options to retail clients as it considers that a significant investor protection concern related to the offer of binary options to retail clients continues to exist. The decision renews on the same terms as the previous renewal decision of September 21, 2018. The decision was made under Article 40 of the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (600/2014) and applies from January 2, 2019 for three months.