CMS Expert Guide to Crypto Regulation in Greece
- How is crypto regulated?
- What are the steps taken by the regulator to adopt MiCAR?
- Are the following activities regulated or unregulated in your jurisdiction? ― Direct sales of tokens by issuers — Exchange (buy/sell) ― Custody (hold) ― Borrowing/lending ― Yield/staking services ― Staking on proof of stake consensus mechanisms (please indicate if NFTs are treated differently from fungible cryptoassets for each activity)
- Can offshore business provide services to local customers on either active solicitation or reverse solicitation basis?
- How long would establishing a cryptoasset business/obtaining a license in your jurisdiction take?
- What would be the approximate overall cost of obtaining a licence?
- What is the probability (%) of success in obtaining a licence?
- What other limitations are there in your jurisdiction when looking to set up a cryptoasset business? E.g., Compliance requirements and physical presence
jurisdiction
Disclaimer: This chapter was last updated on 24 October 2024 and does not reflect any subsequent developments. The information provided is intended for general informational purposes and should not be construed as legal advice.
1. How is crypto regulated?
| AML Regulation | Any other regulation |
| The Fifth Money Laundering Directive (5MLD) extended the Fourth Money Laundering Directive (4MLD) regime to “providers engaged in exchange services between virtual and fiat currencies” and to “custodian wallet providers”. The 5MLD was transposed into Greek national law via Law 4734/2020, which amended Law 4557/2018 (AML Law), which is the main AML law in Greece. | Financial services are regulated mainly under Law 4514/2018 (MiFID II Law) and other legislation, most notably Law 4021/2011 (the EMD II Law) and Law 4537/2018 (the PSD II Law). Authorisation and enforcement under the aforementioned regime are principally overseen by the Bank of Greece (BoG) or the Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC). At present there is no legislation specifically for cryptoassets. |
2. What are the steps taken by the regulator to adopt MiCAR?
The Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC) has yet to release details regarding the specific steps for obtaining a MiCA license locally. At this stage, it remains challenging to estimate the actual process involved.
3. Are the following activities regulated or unregulated in your jurisdiction? ― Direct sales of tokens by issuers — Exchange (buy/sell) ― Custody (hold) ― Borrowing/lending ― Yield/staking services ― Staking on proof of stake consensus mechanisms (please indicate if NFTs are treated differently from fungible cryptoassets for each activity)
| AML Regulation | Any other regulation |
The only regulation in respect of cryptoassets under Greek Law stems from the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Terrorist Financing (CTF) Law and its delegated Decisions. Pursuant to Law 4557/2018, the HCMC is the AML and CTF supervisor for certain cryptoasset services providers in Greece. Certain cryptoasset service providers are prohibited from operating in Greece unless they are registered with the HCMC. The HCMC then supervises their compliance with the applicable legal regime. In 2020, the HCMC became the AML and CTF supervisor for the following cryptoasset service providers under Greek Law:
| Strictly speaking, cryptoassets and cryptoasset services are not regulated in Greece. Furthermore, neither the HCMC nor the BoG have published any guidance regarding the application of existing financial services regulation in respect of cryptoassets. However, in principle, cryptoassets may qualify as financial instruments (Law 4514/2018, the MiFID II Law), electronic money (Law 4021/2011, the EMD II Law) or even “funds” (within the meaning of Article 4 of Law 4537/2018, the PSD II Law), in case the elements of the relevant definitions are satisfied. But neither the HCMC nor the BoG have mandated specific criteria discerning which cryptoassets should be treated as financial instruments, electronic money, funds etc. |
4. Can offshore business provide services to local customers on either active solicitation or reverse solicitation basis?
There are no restrictions on how cryptoasset businesses can market their services to local customers. However offshore businesses cannot provide services to local customers unless they are registered with the HCMC as a custodian wallet provider or a provider engaged in exchange services under the AML legislation.
5. How long would establishing a cryptoasset business/obtaining a license in your jurisdiction take?
| AML Regulation | Any other regulation |
| The aforementioned providers are required to register with the HCMC in order to provide such services in Greece. Following such registration, they are listed on the relevant HCMC register. The HCMC informs the applicant within two (2) months from the submission of the complete application (submission of all the necessary information and documents), whether the registration took place or not. | No specific license is required from a Financial Services Regulation perspective regarding cryptoassets, unless they qualify as financial instruments, electronic money or funds. In that case the cryptoasset business will need to obtain the relevant license under the MiFID II, EMD II, PSD II Law. However, obtaining such a license does not pertain to the crypto nature of the assets per se. |
6. What would be the approximate overall cost of obtaining a licence?
| AML Regulation | Any other regulation |
| The aforementioned providers are required to pay to the HCMC a one-time fee of EUR 1,500 for the submission of the application and the processing of their application and an annual contribution of EUR 1,000 to cover supervision costs. The one-time fee must be paid prior to the submission of the application. | N/A |
7. What is the probability (%) of success in obtaining a licence?
| AML Regulation | Any other regulation |
| The HCMC has not released any relevant data or information. However, a well-advised applicant with a high-quality application should expect their application to be approved. | N/A |
8. What other limitations are there in your jurisdiction when looking to set up a cryptoasset business? E.g., Compliance requirements and physical presence
| AML Regulation | Any other regulation |
The Providers should comply with all the AML compliance requirements as provided for in the Greek Law 4557/2018 (AML-CTF provisions) and its delegated Decisions. With regards to physical presence, it depends on the country of origin of the cryptoasset business: i.e., economic operators who are already authorised to carry out business activities in one EU Member State are able to provide their services in Greece without having to become established in Greece, under the Freedom of Services principle. EU consumer protection laws also need to be complied with. | N/A |
The experts from Christos Ntallas & Co provided the input.
