Cryptocurrencies in the European Union

The main articles are:

• Cryptocurrencies
• Economy of the European Union

Cryptocurrencies in Estonia

Main article: Cryptocurrencies in Estonia

2024: German government sells 88% of its bitcoins

In July 2024, the German government sold most of its bitcoin wallet, with only 5,800 BTC left of the original 50,000 BTC. Thus, 88.4% of all bitcoins were sold.

2023

Plan to launch licensing of all issuers and verification of senders and recipients of cryptocurrencies

In May 2023, the European Union cools the cryptocurrency market. All crypto-emitters will have to obtain a license, and exchanges and exchangers will have to verify the identities of cryptocurrency senders and recipients, regardless of the transfer amounts. According to the idea, such measures should protect Europeans investing in cryptocurrencies, as well as prevent its use for money laundering and terrorist financing. The rules are expected to take effect from 2024.

Ban on advertising cryptocurrencies in France

The National Assembly France voted in March 2023 to ban the advertising of cryptocurrencies. The law only allows advertising if the crypto service provider has a PSAN license, which no one has at that time.

France ranks first in the ranking of European countries, in terms of the share of residents who own cryptocurrency. The country has draconian taxes.

Searches in the Bulgarian crypto company Nexo with a turnover of $94 billion

In the capital of Bulgaria, Sofia, searches began in the offices of the Nexo crypto company, according to the local publication 24 Hours. Over the past 5 years, Nexo's turnover has amounted to more than $94 billion. More than 300 people are involved in the international special operation, including prosecutors, investigators, employees of the State National Security Agency (DANS) and foreign agents.

The actions of the special services are allegedly directed against a large-scale scheme of financial crimes, money laundering and violation of sanctions imposed against Russia, the article says. Searches are taking place at Nexo's offices, and police have also been seen in front of high-end properties linked to the company's owners. According to media reports, the company is run by Bulgarian citizens Kosta Kanchev and Anthony Trenchev.

DANS employees suspect the founders of a crypto company in actions under the scheme of "crypto-royal" Ruzhi Ignatova, the newspaper writes. The founder of OneCoin Ignatova was included in the list of ten most wanted criminals for deceiving investors in the amount of more than $4 billion, which she carried out on the principle of network marketing. For information about her, the FBI announced a reward of $100 thousand @ banksta

2022

Germany and Spain lead in the number of transactions in cryptocurrencies

The number of users regularly transacting in cryptocurrencies, data for December 2022

Spain imposes fines for bloggers advertising cryptocurrencies

In January 2022, it became known that Spain will begin to fine bloggers 300,000 euros for advertising cryptocurrencies without notifying the securities regulator. Posts should contain information that there is a risk of losing all money, cryptocurrency is not regulated and is not suitable for retail investors. The rules are created for bloggers who have more than 100,000 followers.

2021: Denmark to amend Tax Code for cryptocurrency transactions

The Danish Internal Revenue Service will amend the country's current Tax Code to reflect the use of crypto assets and prevent tax evasion. This became known on June 9, 2021.

Danish Tax Minister Morten Bedskov (Morten Bødskov) said that between 2015 and 2019, the Danish Tax Service identified about 16,000 individuals and legal entities involved. trade cryptocurrencies However, two-thirds of the total number of transactions made by these individuals during the specified time were not reflected in the tax returns.

M. Bedskov said that the Danish Tax Code is already outdated - the current tax laws were adopted back in 1922. Therefore, the laws of a century ago do not provide for the use of existing financial instruments, including cryptocurrencies. The minister stated the need to amend the tax legislation of the country to ensure its relevance, respond to problems related to digital assets, as well as reduce cases of fraud.

The minister called the cryptocurrency industry a good reason to revise and adjust the existing rules. Given the large number of unprofessional investors, tax laws must be very clear and transparent to avoid possible misunderstandings and errors in tax calculations. At the same time, M. Bedskov stressed that amendments to the legislation will not happen immediately. The corresponding bill will be presented only by mid-2023, so it may take several years to adapt the Danish Tax Code to the realities of the financial market.

Tax services in different countries have repeatedly called on traders to report profits and losses from cryptocurrency transactions. However South Korea , she followed the path of tougher measures and is confiscating crypto assets for tax evasion. So, in April, the tax authorities Seoul seized cryptocurrencies from individuals and companies totaling 25 billion won (22 million) US dollars ^[1]

2020: EU plans to fully regulate cryptocurrencies by 2024

By 2024, the European Union intends to fully use all the possibilities of cryptocurrencies and blockchain, which means that a comprehensive legal framework must be developed for these industries. This became known on September 21, 2020.

According to internal documents of the European Union, the Union of States plans to use blockchain and digital assets for international payments. The EU executive will draft a bill clarifying how existing legal rules should apply to crypto assets, as well as introducing rules to close gaps in legislation.

As noted in the document, by 2024 the European Union should form a comprehensive structure that allows the use of crypto assets and distributed registry technology in the financial sector, taking into account the risks associated with these technologies.

According to the source, Brussels also plans to simplify the exchange of data in the financial sector in order to stimulate competition and develop services. At the same time, the EU intends to adhere to the principle of "the same risk, the same rules, the same regulation" for companies from different EU countries.

As of September 2020, 78% of payments in the European Union are made using cash, and the authorities expect to make digital payments more popular. Instant payment systems are expected to become a familiar service by the end of 2021.

As stated in the document, "by 2024, it is necessary to implement the principle of" one window "to obtain licenses for all areas with significant potential for digital finance"^[2].

2018

European Commission on the danger of losing funds when investing in cryptocurrencies

Digital currencies cannot be recognized as official currencies, their value does not have serious security and high speculative activity can be associated with them. This conclusion was reached by the European Commission (a key supranational authority of the EU) following a special round table on cryptocurrencies, TASS reports in February 2018. The Russian Information Agency^[3].

The European Commissioners admitted that ICOs allow new high-tech companies to raise funds for development, but this process carries great risks for investors. The main problem is that it is difficult to correctly evaluate a company that produces a new cryptocurrency. This is a significant difference between ICO and IPO (initial placement of securities on the market), in which very serious requirements are imposed on the issuer in terms of business transparency.

Deutsche Bank advises against investing in cryptocurrency

Deutsche Bank analysts do not advise investing in cryptocurrency. Markus Mueller, head of the investment division of the German bank, spoke about this in an interview with Bloomberg at the end of January 2018.

According to him, the problems lie in the high volatility of the course, the potential manipulation of the cost of cryptocurrencies, as well as the possibility of losing or stealing data. Read more here.

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