HomeNewsBank of Spain issues Guidelines for further Crypto Services

Bank of Spain issues Guidelines for further Crypto Services

The Central Bank of Spain has introduced new registration guidelines for cryptocurrency service providers in the country, including banking and financial institutions. Also, the mandatory registry for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) in the country has commenced.

The bank also dispelled doubts that financial institutions had regarding whether they had to apply for the registry, given they already comply with AML legislation. All institutions and persons must apply for the registry if they want to provide crypto-related services in Spain.

The Bank of Spain has published new guidance on Oct. 19 for following AML guidelines for virtual asset providers.

The corresponding registry will be operational by Oct. 29, but the banks are still waiting for instructions.

Also, instructions have arisen on VASP registration for Anti-Money Laundering. And other purposes requiring to submit their registration requests through an electronic registry. These guidelines are also issued to protect the citizens from the wave of crypto fraud.

Registry Opened for VASPs

The Bank of Spain has finally opened the registry for VASPs and clarified its scope, the kind of companies and individuals that should register. Statements posted on the Virtual Office of the Bank of Spain, all platforms offering services in Spain must register. Even those not located in the country.

Issuing the guidelines on Oct. 19, the Spanish central bank noted that the obligation to sign up in the registry applies to “all individuals and institutions providing virtual currency exchange services” like cryptocurrency trading and custody services.

The Bank of Spain also stipulated that companies can only register via the internet. At the same time, individuals can go to the offices of the General Registry of the Bank of Spain to deliver the requested documents.

The required documentation includes a money laundering and terrorist financing prevention manual created by each one of the institutions. A risk analysis document and identification documents for all of the people running these operations.

According to local reports, representatives of banks interested in offering cryptocurrency-related services to their customers doubted if they had to register to do cryptocurrency-related business in the future. Most experts believed that banks were the best spot to do this due to their existing compliance standards. The Bank of Spain dispelled this notion when it announced that all companies would have to register.

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