Belgian Regulatory Authority: These Two Cryptocurrencies Are Not Securities!

The Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority said on Thursday, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) without an issuer cryptocurrency He said his units are not securities.

“We Are Getting Lots of Questions About the Regulatory Position of Cryptocurrencies”

The regulator said it is receiving a growing number of questions regarding the regulatory treatment of cryptocurrencies and hopes to address the gray areas that come up most often, including when digital assets can be classified as securities.

In jurisdictions like the US, disputes over when cryptocurrencies become securities have led to court proceedings, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) saying that Ripple Labs must register the cryptocurrency XRP.

The FSMA added that the Belgian administration is “technology neutral,” suggesting that classification as a financial instrument or security should not depend on whether an asset uses blockchain or something more traditional.

The rules, which largely reflect those laid out in a consultation in July, say that transferable instruments with an issuer can constitute a security.

This means that potential investors must prepare accurate guidance and implement an EU law known as MiFID, which requires financiers to be open and avoid conflicts of interest. However, they are not included in these rules as there is no distributor of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

The guide stated that even if these rules do not apply, there are existing requirements for crypto companies to implement anti-money laundering procedures.

A new EU law known as the Markets in Crypto Assets regulation (MiCA) will also come into effect in the coming years and will require new crypto offerings to prepare a white paper similar to a stock procedure.

Rules adopted in Belgium in 2014 made it illegal for professionals to distribute crypto-based financial products to individual customers.

*Not investment advice.