Digital Law Up(to)date: Belgian legislator strengthens legislation on crypto-exchange and wallet service providers

On 11 February 2022, the Belgian Official Gazette published a new law adopted by the Federal legislator modifying the Belgian anti-money laundering law (of 18 September 2017). The objective of the text is to introduce new provisions to regulate crypto-exchange and wallet service providers.

The new law determines which providers are subject to a registration obligation with the Belgian Financial Services and markets Authority (the “FSMA”). It states that the foreign EEA crypto-exchange and wallet service providers without any physical establishment in Belgium and operating under the free provision of service are not subject to this obligation.

The law also considers that crypto-ATMs are established in Belgium when they have on the Belgian territory electronic infrastructures through which they offer their services. The aim is to allow the FSMA to monitor these ATMs.

Belgium is obviously not the only country to have its regulations evolve with regard to these new digital financial practices. In 2020, the European Union published a proposal for a regulation on markets in crypto-assets (see here the proposal and here a previous blog the European initiative). The legislative process is still ongoing. More recently, the EU published another proposal for a regulation on information accompanying transfers of funds and certain crypto-assets (see here). This text was the subject of an opinion of the European Central Bank published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 9 February 2022 (see here).

This article was co-authored by Edouard Cruysmans in his capacity of Professional Support Lawyer at Stibbe.