Belgium Financial Regulator FSMA To Regulate Digital Asset Exchange Services

A recent rule imposed by Belgium’s financial regulatory agency, the Financial Services and Markets Authority, will now require digital asset exchanges and custodial crypto wallet services in the area to register within a well defined deadline.

Beginning tomorrow, legal individuals and entities that wish to provide virtual asset exchange services or custodial wallets in Belgium will have to register in advance, as per the information released by the FSMA.

To maintain active registration with the Financial Services and Markets Authority, digital currency service providers are required to fulfill 7 conditions that include being established in the form of an organization with a minimum capital of around 52k USD (approximately fifty thousand Euro).

The Financial Services and Markets Authority anticipates to process registration applications within 3 months, considering all essential information has been provided. Upon successful registration, virtual asset service providers will receive a unique registration number, dubbed the company number. This number must be used in all further interactions with the FSMA.

Belgium’s pro-digital asset stance became evident at the beginning of this year when Brussels member of parliament Christophe De Beukelaer became the first European politician to convert his salary to Bitcoin.

During the disclosure, Beukelaer shared his intent to inspire other politicians in the region to support the growing digital asset economy.