Is Crypto.com Legal in Italy
It is also worth noting a 2018 judgment of the Court of Brescia (Decree No. 7556 of July 18, 2018), in which the court clarified the requirements that crypto assets must meet in order to be paid up as share capital of a Società a Responsabilità Limitata (roughly, the Italian equivalent of a limited liability company). In fact, the court confirmed that cryptocurrencies can be deposited as registered capital, provided their value is determinable, usually as determined on widely used exchanges. Therefore, the request of some shareholders to increase the share capital of the company by depositing in certain currencies they had just created and trading on a very small homemade crypto exchange was overturned by the court. As for the determination of the legal nature of cryptocurrencies, the judgment of the Brescia court did not shed any additional light on this, as it simply mentioned that under Italian law, goods and services can be deposited as share capital in addition to cash. Yes. Investors can buy crypto in Italy and it is legal to do so. The Italian legal system does not contain a general definition of cryptocurrencies (although, as we will analyze later, sectoral definitions have been introduced). Therefore, commentators have debated whether cryptocurrencies should be considered a currency or a commodity from a legal perspective. This is not just a theoretical question, as it would have an immediate impact on a number of levels, including whether or not cryptocurrencies are a suitable means of payment. After years of debate and uncertainty, a consensus now seems to have been reached in the sense that cryptocurrencies are subject to the same legal regime as currencies that are not legal tender in Italy, for example obsolete currencies such as the Italian pound, which has been replaced by the euro, and currencies of another country. Based on this theory, if a contractual payment is agreed in a cryptocurrency, while the creditor is not entitled to payment in a currency other than the contractually agreed currency, the debtor can also make the payment in the legal tender, at the exchange rate of the date on which the payment obligation becomes due.
Although no case law has yet confirmed this theory, it has been applied in an arbitral award ((hyperlink)). European Directive 2016/0208 (the “AML Directive 5”) was repealed in Italy by Legislative Decree No. 5. 125 of 2019 (“Order in Council 125”). In fact, Italy had already imposed strict KYC and anti-money laundering requirements on crypto exchanges before such a directive was transposed into its legal system, but with the implementation of AML 5, anti-money laundering obligations were also imposed on crypto wallet service providers. In addition, crypto exchange and crypto wallet providers must now register with the Register of Financial Agents and Credit Intermediaries. Decree 125 also clarified the definition of crypto exchange, which under the previous regime was limited to companies exchanging fiat currency for cryptocurrencies and vice versa, while under the new rules, also applies to the conversion of a particular cryptocurrency into another cryptocurrency. The anti-money laundering provisions also apply to all “service providers relevant to the use of virtual currencies” that provide services relevant to the issuance, offer, transfer and settlement, as well as to all other services relating to the acquisition, trading and brokering of cryptocurrency exchanges (as well as to exchange and wallet service providers, “cryptographic service providers”). The intention of the legislator, of course, is to cast as far a net as possible in order to include as much cryptographic activity as possible within the scope of Decree 125. The latest authorization allows the legal entity to operate in Italy, issued by the Italian tax authority Organismo Agenti e Mediatori (OAM). Blockchain.com said the registration he received would hold him accountable and minimize money laundering risks.
Italian courts disagree that cryptocurrencies should not be treated as legal tender. The other disagreement of the courts concerns the rules. Despite court disagreements, the Italian Supreme Court considers cryptocurrencies to be financial instruments. However, CONSOB soon realised that ICO regulation based on an ad hoc analysis of the characteristics of the tokens to be issued did not guarantee the level of legal and regulatory certainty needed to promote ICOs as a common method of financing new entrepreneurial initiatives. When it comes to the legal nature of cryptocurrencies, it should be noted that Italian courts do not always agree with the majority of commentators. In fact, the Italian Supreme Court recently considered the online sale of Bitcoin as an encouragement of financial instruments, while the Florence Court designated certain cryptocurrencies deposited in an electronic wallet and a subsequent insolvent exchange as “fungible property” (Court of Florence, judgment No. 18 of 2019). Advantages 24/7 support Poorly regulated trading fees Cheap deposit options Cons High card deposit fees The best Italian crypto exchanges compared The easiest way to determine the best crypto exchange in Italy is to compare exchanges in a table to see how they compare to each other.