THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ACCEPTED A PROPOSAL OF THE ACT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF REGULATION (EU) ON MARKETS IN CRYPTO-ASSETS (MiCAR) FOR CONSIDERATION
As we reported in the March issue of tax news, the Ministry of finance prepared the proposal of the Act on the implementation of regulation (EU) on markets in crypto-assets (hereinafter: "the proposal"), which will regulate the practical aspects of implementing the European MiCA regulation. The proposal has now also been officially confirmed by the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and sent to the National Assembly for consideration and adoption.
The proposal designates the competent authorities for supervision and issuing licenses (Securities Market Agency and Bank of Slovenia) and their methods of supervision. In addition, it regulates cooperation of the local competent authorities with the competent authorities of other member states, the European Securities and Markets Authority, and the European Banking Authority and determines fines for violations of the law.
According to the proposal, the Securities Market Agency (hereinafter: ''the Agency'') will be responsible for supervising:
- entities which obtained permission to make a public offering or to trade crypto-assets that are not asset-backed tokens or e-money tokens in accordance with the Regulation,
- entities that provide services related to crypto-assets, except for electronic money issuing institutions when they perform custody and management of crypto-assets on behalf of clients and transfer services of crypto-assets on behalf of clients in relation to e-money tokens they issue,
- entities that have permission to make a public offering or to trade tokens,
- matters related to the prevention and prohibition of market abuse involving crypto-assets.
The Bank of Slovenia will be responsible for supervising:
- entities which will have permission to make a public offering or to trade e-money tokens in accordance with the Regulation,
- electronic money institutions when they will perform custody and management of crypto-assets on behalf of clients and transfer services of crypto-assets on behalf of clients in relation to e-money tokens.
In certain cases, the Agency and the Bank of Slovenia will perform supervision together. In addition to supervision, these two entities will also have other mostly administrative competencies.
The Agency will be responsible for issuing and revoking licenses and for confirming the so-called "white papers", which represent the main document with a detailed description of the operation, structure and purpose of issuing a particular cryptocurrency. The Agency will also receive official notifications from credit institutions wishing to offer a crypto asset-linked token to the public for trading.
The Bank of Slovenia, on the other hand, will be responsible for receiving official notifications from electronic money-issuing institutions wishing to act as custodians, administrators and transferors of cryptocurrencies on behalf of clients. The Bank of Slovenia will also receive notifications on the whitepaper of persons offering e-money tokens to the public or requesting their admission to trading.
Proposed fines for minor violations depend on the size of the legal entity in violation and range from EUR 1,250 to EUR 500,000. When the nature of the offense is particularly severe due to the amount of damage caused or the amount of illegal benefit obtained, the fine may be:
- up to EUR 15 million or up to 15 percent of the total annual turnover of that legal entity in the previous business year,
- up to double the amount of benefit gained from the violation if this amount exceeds the highest amount from the previous point and if the amount can be determined,
- up to EUR 5 million for the responsible person or individual who independently performs the activity.
Despite the consistent treatment of the crypto market, regulators in the EU and around the world are still grappling with key basic topics that need to be thoroughly defined due to the complexity of the crypto-asset sector. This is necessary so that future rules can effectively regulate taxation, protect investors and prevent money laundering.
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