Lisbon, Dec. 3, 2025 (Lisboa) - On Wednesday, parliament approved a bill that transposes the new rules of the "Mica" regulation into national law, strengthening supervision of crypto-asset service providers from July 2026 onwards.
The initiative was approved by the Committee on Budget, Finance and Public Administration, with votes in favour from the PSD, PS, Chega and CDS-PP, and votes against from the PCP.
The proposal transposes into national law the European regulation that defines the rules for the authorisation and operation of crypto-asset service providers and the supervision of crypto-asset service providers in the European area, through common rules for so-called asset-referenced crypto-token issuers, electronic money crypto-token issuers, and crypto-asset service providers.
The text defines the authorities responsible for supervising this sector in Portugal by dividing control between the Bank of Portugal (BdP) and the Securities Market Commission (CMVM). It outlines the obligations for cooperation between these two supervisors and, in turn, between these national entities and their respective European supervisors.
In today's vote, an amendment proposed by the PSD and CDS-PP was approved, with only the PCP voting against it, establishing a transitional regulatory period for entities already engaged in these activities.
Companies will be able to continue their activities until 1 July 2026. From then on, the new rules will apply, whereas the government's original proposal provided for the transitional phase to last until 30 December 2025.
Under the new legislation, when the Bank of Portugal receives an application for authorisation from a crypto-asset service provider, it must notify the CMVM within 2 working days of any notifications or applications for authorisation it receives. If the CMVM identifies any reason that would prevent a favourable decision, it "sends its justifications to the BdP".
The BdP shall notify the CMVM of authorisation acts, "including the expansion and reduction of authorised activities", as well as any information it receives from a crypto-asset service provider wishing to operate in more than one European Union country.
The legislation includes an article stipulating that "crypto-asset service providers shall ensure that employees providing crypto-asset advisory services have the knowledge and skills necessary to perform their duties".
The PS presented an amendment proposal to replace the term "employees" with "workers", an initiative rejected by the PSD, CDS-PP and Chega, maintaining the original version.
Socialist MP Miguel Costa Matos explained that the European regulation explicitly refers to "workers" and that the Portuguese legal system "is entirely consistent" concerning labour regulation, referring to “workers” and not "employees".
The initiative sparked debate among the parliamentary benches, with the PSD, CDS-PP and Chega arguing that the term "collaborators" is more comprehensive and should include service providers.
"For the sake of comprehensiveness and clarity, the term should be collaborator and not worker," argued CDS-PP MP Paulo Núncio. PSD MP Alberto Fonseca and Chega MP Eduardo Teixeira made the same argument.
Miguel Costa Matos retorted that Portugal should ensure the direct implementation of the regulation and that a service provider "is still a worker - an independent worker, but a worker nonetheless".
At today's COFAP meeting, another bill was also voted on and approved, complementing this one, which adapts Portuguese anti-money laundering legislation to the reality of transfers of crypto assets, now considering "crypto asset service providers based in Portugal" as financial entities.
PCT/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
