Cyprus may introduce crypto regulation before the adoption of EU rules

According to the European Innovation Scoreboard, last year Cyprus ranked second in innovation.

This was told by the Deputy Minister for Research, Innovation and Digital Policy of the country Kyriakos Kokkinos at a meeting with the local fintech community. The event was dedicated to digital assets, entrepreneurship and financial technologies.

Commenting on the future of digital assets in Cyprus, including cryptocurrencies, the minister drew a fine line between innovation and law enforcement.

I can tell you that Cyprus welcomes the use of digital and crypto assets, but we still have to be very careful and respect not only the current regulations, but also the absence of any regulations,” Kokkinos said.

The official then reported that the Cypriot government has already prepared a “very attractive bill on crypto assets.” It has already been published and interested parties can read it.

Our task is not to agree with the EU, but to the dilemma: whether to wait for the finalization of the ECB regulatory framework or to act independently, while the first scenario also suggests the possibility of excessive regulation of this structure, “said Kyriakos Kokkinos.

My answer is that we will act alone, following the rules.

The Deputy Minister acknowledged that there are certain problems, including some disagreements between the government and the Central Bank of Cyprus (PPM).

We must remember that the pulp and paper mill is subordinate to the European Central Bank (ECB), and central banks are usually conservative, so our task is to challenge them through debate,” the deputy minister concluded his speech.