The transitional regime for crypto-asset service providers in Italy in light of recent regulatory changes
Legislative Decree 129/2024, which came into force on September 14, 2024, further implemented MiCA Regulation (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation - EU Reg. 2023/1114) provisions in Italy.
Among other things, Legislative Decree 129/2024 introduced (Art. 45) a transitional regime allowing VASPs (Virtual Assets Service Providers – a definition coined by the FATF – financial Action Task Force): registered, as of 27 December 2024, in the special section of the register kept by the OAM may continue to provide services related to the use of virtual currencies or digital wallets until the earlier of (i) 30 December 2025 and(ii) the date of issuance or denial of an authorization under Article 63 of MiCAR, provided that they submitted, by 30 June 2025, an application for authorization under MiCAR to operate as a CASP (Crypto Assets Service Provider – EU definition broader than that of VASP),.
As the deadline of 30 June 2025 for submitting applications for authorization under MiCAR approached, Law Decree No. 95/2025 was approved - effective 1st July 2025 - in order to extend the aforementioned deadlines.
In light of the extended deadlines, VASPs that were duly registered with the OAM on 27 December 2024, will now have time until 30 December 2025 to submit their applications for authorization to operate as CASPs under MiCAR, and will thus be able to benefit from the transitional regime until 30 June 2026.
Law Decree 95/2025 also introduces a new paragraph 1-bis to Article 45 of Legislative Decree 129/2024, allowing Italian VASPs belonging to a group to continue to provide crypto-related services without the need to apply for a MiCAR license if another company of the same group has applied for a MiCAR license in Italy or in another EU Member State.
This benefit is subject to conditions:
- the Italian VASP was enrolled at the OAM register as of 27 December 2024;
- the MiCAR license application by another company of the group must be submitted by 30 December 2025.
Subject to these conditions, the Italian VASP may therefore continue to provide services until the MiCAR license is granted or denied, and in any case no later than 30 June 2026.
The above provides strategic flexibility to Italian VASPs belonging to corporate groups, allowing them to continue operating until the authorization process is completed, even if initiated by another company in the group.
Law Decree 95/2025 does not specify whether such group transitional regime applies only to Italian VASPs that directly carry out activities for Italian customers, or whether it somehow applies when the Italian VASP does not directly provide services in Italy as it only complies with reporting obligations to the OAM.
In fact, many Italian VASPs registered with the OAM that are part of a corporate group have been established in Italy and registered with OAM for the sole purpose of the reporting customer operations to the OAM, while other companies in the same group provide crypto-related services to Italian customers via online platforms.
In the absence of contrary indications, however, it seems possible to opt for a more extensive interpretation whereby the transitional regime also applies in case services to Italian customers are provided by other companies of the group; in this case Italian VASPs must at least continue to transmit to the OAM data on transactions carried out in the Italian territory.
