Spain to implement MiCA in 2025
The Spanish Ministry of Economy and Digital Transformation has announced that it will begin implementing MiCA at the national level in December 2025, six months before the July 2026 general deadline for implementing the crypto framework for all 27 member states of the E.U.
The Ministry made the announcement via a press release on Thursday, and the first vice president of Spain, Nadia Calviño, has since met with the president of the European Securities and Market Authority, Verena Ross, to discuss the government’s intention to advance the implementation of MiCA.
While MiCA was approved in June, E.U. countries have been given a 36-month transition period from the time the bill was published in the Official Journal of the European Union. Spain previously stated they wanted to shorten that transition period to 18 months.
“The government will shorten the transitional period of application … with the aim of creating a predictable and stable regulatory and supervisory framework,” the release from the Ministry said. “[This] will provide legal certainty and greater protection for Spanish investors in this type of assets.”
But they are not waiting until 2025 to start their preparations, as multiple large international crypto exchanges in Spain have been granted local licenses. In June, Crypto.com announced that they had been granted a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) registration from the Banco de España that allows the exchange to operate in the country.
In September, Coinbase secured an anti-money laundering compliance registration from Spain’s central bank, and Kraken attained a VASP registration similar to Crypto.com.
Earlier this month, Banco de España issued a note to Spanish citizens preparing them for the potential introduction of a digital euro and explaining the basics of how the European Union’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) would operate.
“These preparations are multiple and complex in nature, not only for the Eurosystem but also for legislators,” they said. “The objective is clear: to be able to complement the range of payment solutions available to citizens, including cash. The digital euro would be an additional option that would ensure access to public money with all its guarantees, also in an increasingly digital environment.”
The infrastructure that allows us to make electronic payments (machines, connections, protocols …) is a key part of our financial system and the Eurosystem ensures its soundness and availability,” the central bank said. “The digital euro would be based on a public and European infrastructure that would strengthen the European financial system and make it more independent of foreign alternatives.
