Netherlands and Cryptocurrency

January 2018 the De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) posted a position paper stating that cryptocurrencies do not fulfill the role of money and do not have any implications on monetary policy.[1] The Dutch Minister of Finance stated in a letter to the Dutch parliament that a ban on cryptocurrencies is not desirable, but regulating cryptocurrency trade on a European or international level would be beneficial. [2] This regulation was implemented by the May 21, 2020 Dutch Implementation Act, subjecting only wallet providers and crypto exchanges to the fifth European Directive on Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AMLD V).[3] Pursuant to AMLD V, crypto service providers must register with the DNB, comply with integrity rules for business conduct, request declarations of no-objection for anticipated qualifying holdings in the crypto service provider, implement AML polices consisting of KYC procedures, monitoring transactions, and filing Suspicious Activity Reports to local law enforcement.[4] Providers operating or based in the Netherlands must register, and unregistered operations face imprisonment and fines.[5] Registration is extensive and requires: a business plan which includes a description of activities, targeted market share, SWOT analysis, description of companies growth plans and expected revenue and partnerships; assessment forms which each policymaker will be subject to a fit and proper screening by DNB; organizational charts; policies for ethical conduct, including outsourcing, training, reporting, conflicts of interest, and compliance obligations; integrity risk analysis; relevant outsourcing agreements allowing DNB to supervise the crypto service provider.[6]

P.S. Insights on Cryptocurrency Legal Issues

Most jurisdictions and authorities have yet to enact laws governing cryptocurrencies, meaning that, for most countries, the legality of crypto mining remains unclear.

Under the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), crypto miners are considered money transmitters, so they may be subject to the laws that govern that activity. In Israel, for instance, crypto mining is treated as a business and is subject to corporate income tax. In India and elsewhere, regulatory uncertainty persists, although Canada and the United States are relatively friendly to crypto mining.

However, apart from jurisdictions that have specifically banned cryptocurrency-related activities, very few countries prohibit crypto mining.

Our Freeman Law Cryptocurrency Law Resource page provides a summary of the legal status of cryptocurrency for each country across the globe with statutory or regulatory provisions governing cryptocurrency.  The globe below provides links to country-by-country summaries:

Is cryptocurrency legal in the Netherlands?

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[1] Cryptocurrency World Survey, Netherlands, https://www.loc.gov/law/help/cryptocurrency/world-survey.php#_ftn450

[2] Id.

[3]Hopman et.al., Attention Crypto Service Providers: You are now Regulated!, DLA Piper (May 29, 2020), https://www.dlapiper.com/en/netherlands/insights/publications/2020/05/attention-crypto-service-providers-you-are-now-regulated/.

[4] Id.

[5] Id.

[6] Id.