The legislative proposal aimed at combating money laundering and terrorist financing in operations involving digital assets, which incorporates the European regulation 2023/1113 into national law, was approved in today’s plenary session with the affirmative votes of PSD, CDS-PP, PS, Chega, Livre, PAN, and JPP. PCP, BE, and IL abstained.
The second bill, which transposes the new rules from European regulation 2023/1114, known as “Mica,” into Portuguese law, was approved with the votes of PSD, CDS-PP, PS, Chega, IL, PAN, and JPP. PCP and BE voted against, while Livre abstained.
At the request of PSD, the final drafting and complaint periods for the two bills were waived.
Regarding the first legislative text, the proposal adapts the current anti-money laundering rules applied to the financial sector to the transfers of crypto-assets.
Starting July 1, 2026, “crypto-asset service providers based in Portugal” who obtain authorization to operate here will be considered financial entities for supervision by the Bank of Portugal, having to comply with the same rules banks follow to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.
The Bank of Portugal will supervise “crypto-asset service providers based in Portugal,” as well as companies based in another EU member state present in Portugal “in a form that is not a branch,” and credit institutions or “other entities of equivalent nature” operating in Portugal under the free provision of services.
If financial entities identify a “high risk” of money laundering in fund or crypto-asset transfers, they must “know the whole circuit of funds or crypto-assets” and “all involved parties” to ensure that “only entities or people duly authorized to process” crypto-assets operations are involved.
The second approved proposal complements this initiative. It transposes into national law the European regulation that defines the authorization and operation rules for companies issuing asset-backed crypto tokens, electronic money crypto tokens, and crypto-asset service providers.
The text specifies the authorities responsible for supervising this sector in Portugal, dividing the control between the Bank of Portugal (BdP) and the Securities Market Commission (CMVM), and outlines the cooperation obligations between these two supervisors and, in turn, between these national entities and their European counterparts.
Companies already authorized to conduct activities with crypto-assets may continue until July 1, 2026. From that point, the new rules will apply, whereas initially, the transitional phase was set to last until December 30, 2025.
Under the new legislation, when the Bank of Portugal receives a request for authorization from a crypto-asset service provider, it must notify CMVM within two business days. If CMVM identifies any reason preventing a favorable decision, it “sends a substantiated opinion to BdP.”
In today’s plenary, another bill executing the European regulation 2024/886 on immediate credit transfers in euros was also voted on. The text was approved by PSD, CDS-PP, PS, Chega, IL, Livre, and JPP. PCP, BE, and PAN abstained. The final draft exemption was also validated to expedite the legislative process.
