Banco de Portugal has announced that it provided local crypto exchange platforms with operating licenses. In addition, the institution revealed that Criptoloja and Mind the Coin are now known as virtual assets service providers. These two exchanges are currently the only two platforms included on a list the financial establishment released publicly.
Banco de Portugal’s ruling has been thought out for nine months, with Criptoloja allegedly making the initial registration in September 2020. In the country, the license allows the two exchanges to execute exchange services between cryptocurrency and fiat money and between different virtual assets. It also enables the platforms to transfer services, safe keep, and administer the assets.
Mentions of Portugal being the most crypto-friendly country were made in the past. For instance, Jean Gales, investor and blogger, wrote that the nation’s becoming ‘a haven’ for people investing in cryptocurrency. This is because the income from digital assets is exempt from VAT and capital gains taxes in Portugal unless it is made from professional trading activity.
Still, the country is not the only nation in Europe to favorably look on crypto exchange platforms and services. At the end of last month, the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) awarded a Class 3 Virtual Financial Asset (VFA) License to XCoins, an exchange platform based in the country.
Back then, Rob Frye, XCoins’ founder and CEO, said: “Being one of the first cryptocurrency platforms to achieve this milestone means that we can keep paving the way for a more secure and regulated industry. Xcoins is leading the way as digital assets gain popularity worldwide.”
The license is the second permit the MFSA offered to a crypto exchange this year, with the first-ever platform to get it being Crypto.com. The exchange was awarded the license a few weeks before XCoins, and called the event ‘a watershed moment for the cryptocurrency industry.”
