Ministry of Finance’s Guidelines
The Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania has published guidelines for cryptocurrency and initial coin offerings (ICOs). They are divided into four areas – regulation, taxation, accounting, and Anti-Money Laundering/ Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT).
Although the guideline document is entitled “ICO Guidelines,” three of the four sections focus on cryptocurrency.
The Lithuanian Minister of Finance, Vilius Šapoka, clarified that the guidelines “describe only part of the aspects examined by relevant institutions, in case of discrepancy between guidelines and positions of institutions, the latter shall prevail,” adding:
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We acknowledge that the brave new crypto economy world is here to stay, this is why we encourage and invite its participants to innovate and create in Lithuania.
ICO Regulation
“Organizing ICO is not regulated by specific legislation,” the finance ministry explains in the Regulatory section, adding that “taking into account different ICO models and different characteristics of tokens, in some cases, such activity may be subject to the requirements of the legislation of the Republic of Lithuania and supervision of the Bank of Lithuania.”
Furthermore, the ministry notes that “If funds collected during ICO are intended for the formation of the capital of a newly established FMP [Financial Market Participants] – the capital formation requirements applicable to a specific form of financial institution shall apply.”
Šapoka commented:
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We are one of the first ones in Europe who prepared comprehensive guidelines on the legal framework for ICO projects covering regulatory as well as taxation and accounting.
Read more: https://news.bitcoin.com/lithuania-cryptocurrency-ico-guidelines/