A “crypto-friendly” country, Portugal, has taken some steps to regulate the local Bitcoin scene. Banco de Portugal, the country’s central bank, has issued operating licenses to two local cryptocurrency exchanges for the first time. Criptoloja from Lisbon and Mind The Coin from Braga received these licenses.
“It’s been a long journey. Being the first regulated exchange in Portugal means a lot,” said Pedro Borges, CEO of Criptoloja. The exchange reportedly applied for its first license at the end of Septemberlast year.
However, regulation is limited to AML / CFT purposes and does not apply to other prudential, market, or any other activity areas, the bank said.
Banco de Portugal reportedly received five formal registration requests from exchanges and more than 60 “unofficial” contacts this year.
“The Banco de Portugal Notice regulates … organizations that intend to operate in Portugal with virtual assets subject to registration, as well as subsequent changes to the elements that must be registered,” the notice says, referring to cryptocurrencies as “virtual assets.”
