Body
FinTechs belonging to this category offer financial services using crypto currencies. This category also includes FinTechs utilising blockchain and distributed ledger technologies (DLT) upon which Bitcoin and Ethereum are based, among others. FinTechs develop and do research in this field in order to create new services – e.g. crypto currency exchange markets, wallet providers, NFTs-related services, new payment services, "smart contracts" or new clearing and settling services.
Introduction
Attitude of the country towards financial services using crypto currencies
State institutions strongly engage in and support the financial innovation sector.
The Working Group on the Development of Financial Innovation was established on the initiative of the Financial Supervision Authority (Komisja Nadzoru Finansowego), the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Development in response to dynamic technological changes in the financial services market.
The purpose of the group is to identify legal, regulatory and supervisory barriers to the development of financial innovation in Poland and to prepare proposals for solutions that could eliminate or reduce the identified barriers.
The Financial Supervision Authority has also launched a virtual sandbox to support the development of the Polish market for financial innovation. It was the first stage of development of the offer of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority concerning technological support for FinTech entities in the form of virtual domain sandboxes. Currently, work is carried out in order to make the virtual sandbox available for testing in a distributed blockchain network.
Legal affairs
Obligations and requirements to provide financial services using crypto currencies described above
As with assessing the need for other FinTechs to comply with regulatory requirements, in this case again, it is necessary to analyse the nature of the services offered by a given company each time. For example, if the services provided by the FinTech will qualify as payment services it will be necessary to obtain the status of a payment institution in accordance with the provisions of the Payment Services Act (ustawa o uslugach platniczych), if the company will conduct business it will be necessary to obtain a license in accordance with the Financial Instruments Trading Act (ustawa o obrocie instrumentami finansowymi), etc.
Activity in the field of virtual currency exchanges may be performed upon the entry in the register of virtual currency activities. The entry in the register is subject to a fee of PLN 616 (approx. EUR 130).
The Financial Supervision Authority has published a position statement summarising the communications to date on the issuance and trading of cryptocurrencies and has taken the view all along that cryptocurrencies are very risky.
Additional comments regarding the legal situation for financial services using crypto currencies or what FinTech’s must be aware of in this business area
The introduction of a definition of virtual currencies in the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act (Ustawa o przeciwdzialaniu praniu pieniedzy oraz finansowaniu terroryzmu) (“AML Act”) made it possible to consider them as a type of property right. Thanks to this, revenue from the disposal of property rights may be taxed as income from business activity or additional sources.
Entities operating cryptocurrency exchanges are obligated institutions under the AML and Act and must therefore comply with all the obligations set out therein.
Economic conditions
Market size for financial services using crypto currencies and biggest companies in this business