Bosnia and Herzegovina Is Preparing a Draft Bill to Regulate Cryptocurrencies

A European country in the Balkans region could start regulating the crypto environment within its territory. A bill is being drafted in Bosnia and Herzegovina that would establish a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies for the first time in the country’s history.

Bill Aims to ‘Attract Entrepreneurs’ to the Country

According to Klix, the Union for a Better Future (SBB) of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), a Bosniak political party, is set to draft a crypto bill after forming a group to research “technological, economic progress, and market modernization.”

The plan includes digital asset development, and thus, crypto-related rules are required to make it possible. The report states that Vedad Mešanović, a local financial expert, will lead the drafting of the bill.

Mešanović – who was recently included in the Forbes list of the 30 most influential people under the age of 30 – stressed the need to regulate the virtual currency sphere in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as state laws “do not follow the development of the cryptocurrency market” across the board. He added:

My job will be to prepare a draft of this law, to work out the details so that we can best bring a large number of companies and entrepreneurs here who would pay taxes here, that is, to create a good environment. With this draft, SBB’s job will be to use its strength to propose that law and to vote.

Croatia and Serbia Used as a Reference for the Crypto Bill

Per the report, the draft bill will also consider some regulations enacted in Serbia and Croatia. Of particular interest are those that regulate crypto miners and traders, who are required to pay taxes on capital gains, plus a city-specific surtax.

There is no timeline on when the bill will be discussed and the question is whether state parliamentarians will be ready to take a step forward to regulate the crypto industry, said the financial expert. Moreover, the Banking Agency of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a state agency responsible for domestic bank regulations, said:

The use and operation of cryptocurrencies are not regulated by the current legislation in the Federation of BiH. The issue of the use of digital money and cryptocurrencies is a special challenge in other regulated financial systems, except in cases where central banks issue cryptocurrencies.

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