New crypto asset rules come into force in Portugal today

New rules on crypto-assets come into force today, with the Bank of Portugal and the CMVM Securities Market Commission acting as the competent supervisory authorities in Portugal.

These pieces of legislation were passed by parliament at the end of 2025 and strengthen the regulation and supervision of transactions involving crypto-assets, aiming to prevent illicit activities related to them, explains Lusa.

The new rules designate the Bank of Portugal (BdP) and the CMVM as responsible for the regulation and supervision of crypto-assets in Portugal; they must regularly publish the list of entities authorised to provide crypto-asset services in Portugal, specifying the services for which they are authorised.

The penalty regime provides for administrative offences for operators who breach the rules. In the case of very serious administrative offences, fines may reach up to €2.5 million for individuals and €5 million for companies.

Providing crypto-asset services without authorisation from the authorities, engaging in market manipulation, or providing false or incomplete information to the authorities, the public, or clients are considered very serious administrative offences.

Last week, the Bank of Portugal told parliament that it applies very strict criteria when authorising companies that provide services involving virtual assets.

“The Bank of Portugal has been given responsibility for authorising these entities. (…) For us, the point of market entry is a decisive moment; that is to say, anyone wishing to carry out a particular type of activity associated with a high risk of money laundering and terrorist financing must demonstrate from the outset that they are capable of doing so,” said João Raposo, Director of the Department of Investigation and Sanctions, before the Budget and Finance Committee.

On December 13, 2025, the then president of Portugal promulgated the legislation now coming into force, albeit with reservations.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa considered at the time that this type of asset raises a number of concerns, but decided to promulgate the laws so that Portugal would not be penalised for failing to implement European rules (namely MiCA – the European Regulation on the Market in Crypto-Assets) – and because he believed it was better to have “inadequate control than none at all”.

The Portuguese Association of Payment Institutions and Electronic Money (ANIPE), however, has warned that the end of the transitional period under the European regulation on crypto-asset markets (MiCA) could bring the Portuguese market for this type of asset to a standstill.

“With just a few days to go before the end of the transitional period, the number of entities effectively authorised in Portugal under MiCA remains minimal, putting at risk the continuation of operators awaiting a decision on their applications for authorisation,” ANIPE has said in a statement.

In ANIPE’s view, the combination of the delay in adapting the national legal framework – noting that more than one year has passed since the European regulation came into force – and the time required to process authorisation applications, has significantly reduced the time available for operators to complete their applications with the necessary legal certainty”.

As such, operators may still secure authorisation to carry out this type of activity by the end of the transitional period.

To address these difficulties, the association is calling on the Bank of Portugal (BdP) and the Portuguese Securities Market Commission (CMVM) to publicly clarify the status of the ongoing authorisation processes and the expected deadlines for their completion.

It has also requested clarification on the mitigation measures that may be applied to entities whose applications remain pending after today.

Source: LUSA