Georgia Follows the EU's Lead on Cryptocurrency Regulation and Aims to Become a "Hub" for the Industry

Jamie Larson

• 1 min read
Georgia Follows the EU's Lead on Cryptocurrency Regulation and Aims to Become a "Hub" for the Industry
Photo by Max Kukurudziak / Unsplash

Georgia's government is moving to modernize its cryptocurrency regulations in order to comply with the EU in the hopes that this will assist this nation at the crossroads of Europe and Asia become a "hub" for the international industry.

Levan Davitashvili, the country's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, reportedly asserted that a "bundle" of draft measures had already been handed to parliament, according to iXBT and News Georgia.

The minister was certain that these proposals would pass and that the following fall parliamentary session would ratify any legal "changes."

All of the bills, according to Davitashvili, are modifications to current laws that will "allow for the convergence" of Georgian law with a number of EU directives relating to cryptocurrency.

These specifically include:

  • The Payment Service Directive (PSD2), which requests more information from exchange customers before they purchase cryptocurrency
  • The Capital Requirements Directive (CRD), which mandates that financial authorities use specific criteria when evaluating licensing applicants connected to cryptocurrencies Directives
  • Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), which govern how exchanges and other cryptocurrency service providers interact and keep track of customer activities for suspicious-looking transfers or trades

According to Davitashvili, the measures will give Georgian cryptocurrency merchants greater legal protections and aid the government and law enforcement in preventing the use of cryptocurrency for money laundering and terrorism financing.

The VASP-related law, according to Davitashvili, was "one of the most essential steps" that the nation needs to take on the road to "sustainable regulation of the crypto business in Georgia."

According to the deputy prime minister, integrating EU directives into Georgia's crypto legislation was "just the first step" in the country's crypto journey.

Georgia's government has already declared its intention to develop into a "crypto center" by 2025.