Custody (hold) A cryptocurrency wallet is referred to in the Wwft as a ‘custodian wallet provider’ and is defined as “an entity that provides services to safeguard private cryptographic keys on behalf of its customers, to hold, store and transfer virtual currencies.” The definition has been derived from the 5MLD. The Wwft defines a virtual currency as “a digital representation of value that is not issued or guaranteed by a central bank or a public authority, is not necessarily attached to a legally established currency and does not possess a legal status of currency or money, but is accepted by natural or legal persons as a means of exchange and which can be transferred, stored and traded electronically”. The definition has also been derived from the 5MLD. Exchange (buy/sell) A cryptocurrency exchange is referred to in the Wwft as “providers engaged in exchange services between virtual currencies and fiat currencies”. The definition has been derived from the 5MLD. The providers of “custodian wallets” and “providers engaged in exchange services between virtual currencies and fiat currencies” provide regulated activities and must file a registration with DNB. The registration requirement applies to service providers who provide these services in a professional capacity or on a commercial basis in or from the Netherlands. Entities that solely provide services for the exchange between virtual currencies are currently not obliged to register with DNB. The activities (i) borrowing/lending and (ii) yield/staking regarding virtual currencies (as defined in the Wwft) are not regulated in the Netherlands, if this does not involve fiat currencies and/or the regulated activities mentioned above. | If a cryptoasset has the characteristics of a regulated investment under the FSA, e.g. a share in a company, then exchange and custody of that cryptoasset will likely entail regulated activities, such as dealing in investments and safeguarding investments. The borrowing/lending of cryptoassets is not explicitly regulated in the Netherlands. It is arguable that the lending of cryptoassets to consumers could fall within the scope of consumer credit regulation, but the AFM or DNB does not appear to have sanctioned any firms or made any public announcements in this regard. Yield/staking is a complicated area. Depending on the business model and detail of the transactions, it can be arguable either way that yield/staking is within scope of the collective investment scheme regulations. The AFM does not appear to have sanctioned any firms or made any public announcements in this regard. |
Social Media cookies collect information about you sharing information from our website via social media tools, or analytics to understand your browsing between social media tools or our Social Media campaigns and our own websites. We do this to optimise the mix of channels to provide you with our content. Details concerning the tools in use are in our privacy policy.