Spanish citizens to declare foreign crypto holdings by end of March 2024

November 28, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Only individuals with balance sheets exceeding the equivalent of 50,000 euros in crypto assets are obliged to declare their foreign holdings.

Spanish residents holding any crypto assets on non-Spanish platforms will have to declare them by March 31, 2024, under new laws governing the taxation of virtual assets.

The Spanish Tax Administration Agency, commonly known as Agencia Tributaria, has published form 721, a tax declaration form for virtual assets abroad, which was first announced in the Boletín Oficial del Estado, the Kingdom of Spain’s official state gazette, on July 29, 2023.

The submission period for a form 721 declaration will commence on Jan.1, 2024, and end on the last day of March. Individual and corporate taxpayers must declare the amount of funds stored on their crypto accounts abroad as of Dec. 31, 2023.

However, only individuals with balance sheets exceeding the equivalent of 50,000 euros (around $55,000) in crypto assets are obliged to declare their foreign holdings. Those who store their assets in self-custodied wallets must report their holdings through the standard wealth tax form 714.

The Agencia Tributaria has recently increased efforts to charge local holders of crypto assets. In April 2023, it dispatched 328,000 warning notices to those who didn’t pay their taxes on crypto for the 2022 fiscal year. The number of notices increased by 40% annually, with 150,000 warnings in 2022. In 2021, there were only 15,000 notifications.

The country is trying to move proactively with a variety of regulations to govern crypto. In October, the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Digital Transformation reported that the first comprehensive European Union crypto framework, the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, will come into force nationally in December 2025, six months ahead of the official deadline.

In November, the principal financial regulator in Spain, the National Securities Market Commission, opened its first case against a technology provider for violating crypto promotion rules.

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Santander offers Bitcoin, ETH trading for Swiss account holders: Report

November 20, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Banking

High-net-worth individuals of Santander Private Banking International will have access to trade BTC and ETH, according to a report claiming access to a leaked internal communication.

The international arm of Spanish lender Banco Santander has reportedly rolled out a new service, allowing clients with Swiss accounts to invest in and trade Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).

According to a report from Coindesk claiming access to a leaked internal communication, high-net-worth individuals of Santander Private Banking International will have access to trade BTC and ETH. Cointelegraph could not independently verify the development as Santander did not immediately respond to requests for comments at the time of writing.

While Santander’s rollout of the new crypto trading services will reportedly start with BTC and ETH only, the banking giant will introduce other cryptocurrencies following the clearance of its screening criteria.

According to the report, Santander launched BTC and ETH trading services upon request from clients through relationship managers. The bank will hold the private cryptographic keys of the tradable assets in a regulated custody model.

Commerzbank recently became the first “full-service” German bank to be granted a crypto custody license in the country under the legal framework of the German Banking Act.

The license allows the bank to offer custody of crypto assets and “further digital asset services” in the future.

“This highlights our ongoing commitment to applying the latest technologies and innovations, and it forms the foundation for supporting our customers in the areas of digital assets,” stated Jörg Oliveri del Castillo-Schulz, chief operating officer of Commerzbank.

The bank initially plans to establish a platform that is both “secure and reliable” and fully complies with local regulations.

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Spanish regulator signals potential X probe on crypto ads

November 13, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The CNMV's head reiterated that networks are responsible for taking measures against investment promotions by unlicensed entities.

The National Stock Market Commission (CNMV), Spain’s principal financial regulator, called out the fraudulent crypto assets promos on X (formerly Twitter) and reiterated the obligation of companies to comply with local laws.

On Nov. 8, in a speech at the Deloitte annual conference for the Spanish financial sector in Madrid, the CNMV head, Rodrigo Valbuena, revealed that the ads in question “make illegal use of the image of some Spanish actors and the design and identity of a national media to try to obtain data and money from investors.”

Valbuena reminded the audience that Spanish legislation holds “internet companies, media and social networks” responsible for taking measures against investment promotions by unlicensed entities and suggests sanctioning the non-compliance. He also promised that his agency would take this case seriously:

“I can assure you that we will scrupulously exercise all our capacities, supervisory powers and our supervisory and sanctioning powers in these cases.”

The regulator also warned that the CNMV is “preparing for the new tasks” and will soon be strengthening its human resources, increasing its staff by 15%.

Last week, the CNMV opened its first case against a technology provider for violating crypto promotion rules in the country. It has initiated “sanctioning proceedings” against Miolos for two “massive” advertisement companies in September and November 2022. The company failed to include risk warnings or submit its campaigns for the CNMV’s authorization.

Spain has said it intends to implement the first comprehensive European Union crypto framework — the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) — even earlier than the July 2026 deadline for EU member states to provide legal certainty and investor protection.

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Spanish regulators set precedent with crypto ad violations case

November 9, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The National Securities Market Commission accuses Miolos of non-compliance with the cryptocurrency regulations established by the CNMV circular from January 2022.

The principal financial regulator in Spain, the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), has opened the first case on violating crypto promotion rules in the country.

As reported in the press release from Nov. 8, CNMV initiated “sanctioning proceedings” against Miolos S.L for two “massive” advertisement companies in September and November 2022.

The Commission accuses Miolos of non-compliance with the cryptocurrency regulations established by the CNMV circular from January 2022. Specifically, the company didn’t put any risk warnings and didn’t submit its campaigns for the CNMV’s authorization. The circular obliges companies to provide promo materials for a check at least ten days before publication.

According to the press release, this is the first time CNMV opened sanctioning proceedings for non-compliance with crypto promotion regulations “to remind the public of the need to follow and respect them.” The Spanish regulator also reiterated the right of Miolos to defend itself against allegations.

Spain has said it intends to implement the first comprehensive European Union crypto framework, Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) even earlier than the deadline for EU member states to provide legal certainty and investor protection.

Meanwhile, stepping into the business of crypto promotion oversight, the country can draw some conclusions from the example of the United Kingdom. In the U.K., regulators’ eagerness to pursue the violations of the crypto promotion rules has led to a massive inability of businesses to comply with them and the departure of several major international players from the market.

At first, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) had to extend the technical deadlines for compliance to 2024 and then issue the “finalized non-handbook guidance,” once again clarifying the compliance requirements.

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Survey: 65% of Spaniards aren’t interested in using digital euro

November 1, 2023 Coin Telegraph

CBDC

The country’s population doesn’t demonstrate as high a confidence level in the European Central Bank’s digital currency project as the government does, according to the survey.

As the Bank of Spain embraces the potential adoption of a digital euro, the country’s population doesn’t appear to have the same strong appetite for the European Central Bank’s digital currency project.

This emerges from the results of a survey published by the Bank of Spain entitled “Study on the habits in use of cash.” The survey was conducted by Ipsos on two groups, totaling 1,600 respondents: the general public and the representatives of small businesses. It also included questions on the digital euro, a potential pan-EU central bank digital currency (CBDC).

The study revealed that only 20% of the general public knows about a “digital euro.” The number among small businessmen is roughly the same, 23%. However, this question was posed in 2022.

In 2023, only 20% confirmed that they would use the digital euro to complement their regular payment methods, while 65% said they would not. A year ago, these numbers favored the CBDC more: in 2022, only 58% responded with a “No” to that question.

The age group showing the most enthusiasm for the digital euro is the youth (18-24) — 36% of this cohort said they would use the currency. This proportion gradually declines in age progression: 31% among the age 25-34, 24% among the age 35-44, 18% among the 55-64, and only 7% for those older than 65.

In October, the Bank of Spain published a text explaining the nature and uses of the digital euro. The bank claimed that the physical cash format “does not allow to exploit all the advantages offered by the growing digitalization of the economy and society.” However, the digital euro will make electronic payments a vital piece of the financial system.

Spain has recently demonstrated its firm commitment to the EU cause regarding the digital economy, and has decided to implement the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA), a pan-EU crypto framework, six months earlier than the general deadline demands.

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Spain to implement MiCA six months ahead of July 2026 deadline

October 31, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The country said EU crypto rules will come into force in December 2025, ahead of the general deadline for implementing MiCA for all 27 member states of the EU.

The Spanish Ministry of Economy and Digital Transformation reported that the first comprehensive European Union crypto framework, the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Act, will come into force on a national level in December 2025.

As follows from the release published by the Ministry on Oct. 26, the first vice president of Spain, Nadia Calviño, has met with the president of the European Securities and Market Authority, Verena Ross, to discuss the government’s intention to advance the implementation of MiCA.

The general deadline for implementing MiCA for all 27 member states of the EU is July 2026. It includes the 36-month transitional period given to the member states since the date of the publication of the MiCA in the Official Journal of the European Union in June 2023. Spain wants to shorten that transition period to 18 months. According to the release:

“[This] will provide legal certainty and greater protection for Spanish investors in this type of assets.”

Meanwhile, large international crypto exchanges in Spain have been granted local licenses. In September, Coinbase secured an Anti-Money Laundering compliance registration from Spain’s central bank, and Kraken attained a virtual asset service provider registration. Earlier, in June, the same regulatory approval was granted to Crypto.com.

This month, Banco de España, Spain’s central bank, publicly joined a chorus of European banking institutions preparing their customers for the potential benefits of a digital euro. The bank claimed that the physical cash format “does not allow to exploit all the advantages offered by the growing digitalization of the economy and society.”

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Bank of Spain embraces ‘digital euro,’ explains its benefits

October 25, 2023 Coin Telegraph

CBDC

The digital euro will make electronic payments a vital piece of the financial system, the statement claims.

Banco de España, Spain’s central bank, has joined a chorus of European banking institutions preparing their customers for the potential benefits of a digital euro. The central bank published a short text on Oct. 19 explaining the nature and uses of the European Union’s potential central bank digital currency (CBDC).

The bank claims that the physical cash format “does not allow to exploit all the advantages offered by the growing digitalization of the economy and society.” However, the digital euro will make electronic payments a vital piece of the financial system.

The authors highlight the possibility of offline payments within the digital euro, emphasizing its level of privacy, equivalent to cash. They also make reservations that in the online form, users’ data would still be visible only to their particular financial institutions and not the CBDC infrastructure provider, Eurosystem.

According to the project calendar published in the text, the current “preparation phase,” launched on Oct. 18, will finish by 2025. However, the final decision on the issuance of the pan-EU CBDC still wasn’t made.

The Bank of Finland recently expressed the same amicable sentiment towards the digital euro. Its board member, Tuomas Välimäki, called it “the most topical project” in the European payment sector.

On Oct. 25, the European Central Bank (ECB) shared a link to the landing page dedicated to basic information about the digital euro. It promises to deliver an “easier life” and a “stronger Europe.”

Earlier this month, the governing council of the ECB announced the beginning of the ”preparation phase” for the digital euro project. It will last two years and focus on finalizing rules for the digital currency and selecting possible issuers.

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