Slovakia and Cryptocurrency
Slovakia Cryptocurrency Laws
Regulation of Digital Currencies: Cryptocurrency, Bitcoins, Blockchain Technology
On March 23, 2018, the Ministry of Finance published guidance explaining that revenues stemming from cryptocurrencies must be taxed and that any type of exchange, such as an exchange of a virtual currency for an asset or a service rendered or for another virtual currency, must be considered to be a taxable transfer.[309] The guidance says that virtual currencies must be treated as “short-term financial assets other than money” and priced at market value at the time of transaction and that cryptocurrencies directly obtained from mining shall be kept off-balance sheet until they are sold or traded.[310] Earlier the Finance Minister had noted that trade in cryptocurrencies, which is unregulated and anonymous, involves risks of terrorism and organized crime.[311]
In 2013 the National Bank of Slovakia issued a warning to inform the general public that virtual currencies are not national currencies and that unauthorized currency production constitutes a criminal offense.[312]
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:
- Blockchain Technology Explained: What is Blockchain and How Does It Work?
- Legal Issues Surrounding Cryptocurrency
- Cryptocurrency and Bankruptcy
- Cryptocurrency Transactions: Multi-Signature Arrangements Explained
- Cryptographic Hash Functions
- Distributed Ledgers The technology behind Blockchain brings business opportunities and legal complexities
- Hard and Soft Forks: A Detailed and Simplified Explanation of How Blockchains Evolve
- Hash Collisions Explained
- IRS Cryptocurrency Taxation: What you Need to Know in 2020
- Merkle Trees
- Mining Explained: A Detailed Guide on How Cryptocurrency Mining Works
- Preimage Resistance, Second Preimage Resistance, and Collision Resistance
- Quantum Supremacy’s Potential Impact on Cryptocurrencies
- SHA-256
- Smart Contracts
- The History of the Blockchain and Bitcoin
- Blockchain Attacks: Is No One Safe in the World of Cryptocurrencies?
- Cryptographic Hash Algorithms: An Introduction
- Overview of the Most Common Cryptocurrencies
- Double-Spending Problem and Byzantine General’s Problem in Relation to Cryptocurrency
- IRS Cryptocurrency Taxation: What you Need to Know in 2020
- Permission and Permissionless Blockchains
- The Tor Network
- Turing Completeness and cryptocurrency
- Cryptography: Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)
- Blockchain Attacks: Is No One Safe in the World of Cryptocurrencies?
- Decentralized Governance Mechanisms
- The Dark Web and the Deep Web
- The Most Common Cryptocurrencies
- Anti-Collusion | What Is Obfuscation?
- What Is Post-Quantum Cryptography?
Podcast:
Is cryptocurrency legal in Slovakia?
Do you have questions about cryptocurrency, digital currencies, or blockchain technology?
Freeman Law can help with digital currencies, tax planning, and tax compliance. Contact us now to schedule a consultation or call (214) 984-3410 to discuss your cryptocurrency and blockchain technology concerns.
309] Methodological Guideline of the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic No. MF/10386/2018-721 for the Procedure of Taxing Virtual Currency, available at http://src.bna.com/xod (in Slovak), archived at https://perma.cc/C897-ZS9T; see also Jan Sojaspal, Slovakia to Tax Cryptocurrency Income, Bloomberg (Mar. 28, 2018), https://www.bna.com/slovakia-tax-cryptocurrency-n57982090526/, archived at https://perma.cc/F34Q-U9V5.
[310] Methodological Guideline, supra note 309.
[311] Finance Minister Plans to Start Taxing Bitcoin, The Slovak Spectator (Jan. 8, 2018), https://spectator.sme.sk/ c/20733083/financial-minister-plans-to-start-taxing-bitcoin.html, archived at https://perma.cc/NN5W-JEJY.
[312] Press Release, National Bank of Slovakia, Národná Banka Slovenska’s Warning to the Public on Bitcoin (Nov. 26, 2013), https://www.nbs.sk/en/press/all-press-releases/press-release/_narodna-banka-slovenska-s-warning-to-the-public-on-bitcoin, archived at https://perma.cc/9A5B-3PCR.