Crypto Regulations in Finland

Few areas of finance are developing faster than crypto-assets, a category that includes cryptocurrencies, securities tokens, and utility tokens, whose common feature is the use of distributed ledger technology (DLT). Their rise has led to calls for better regulation due to potential investor protection, money laundering, and market integrity risks. Several European governments have enacted or proposed legislation affecting crypto-assets. Regulatory differences can also arise when EU member states transpose directives into national law.

Source: Hanessnellman

It is legal in Finland to buy, sell and use cryptocurrency.  On October 4, 2018, the Government of Finland released the Government Proposal 167/2018 (“HE 167/2018”) that proposes to regulate cryptocurrency providers.  The Act on Virtual Currency Providers was enacted on May 1, 2019.

Source: Freeman Law

Cryptocurrency is legal in Finland, but there are laws that are provided to guide the actions of those who use cryptocurrency to avoid wrong usage or theft. This law came into effect on the 1st of May 2019 and compels all cryptocurrency service providers to abide by the dictates of this law to avoid punishment.

Source: Amico Hoops

Yes. The Finnish Virtual Currency Act regulates “virtual currency services” provision in Finland. Under the Virtual Currency Act, “virtual currency services” are defined as • the issue of virtual currency, • the provision of virtual currency exchange services; and • the provision of custodian wallet services.

Source: Hannessnellman

Several European governments have enacted or proposed legislation affecting crypto-assets. Regulatory differences can also arise when EU member states transpose directives into national law. The EU’s proposed Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) would establish a framework for issuing crypto-assets and providing services relating to them. This includes stablecoins: crypto-assets purporting to maintain value by reference to another asset or assets.

Source: Hanessnellman

Profits from exchanging or selling cryptocurrencies are taxed as capital income and subject to Capital Gains Tax in Finland. The capital gains tax rate is 30% for capital income not exceeding €30,000 and 34% on the excess above this limit.

Source: Coin Panda

The decisions clarified that transactions on crypto assets are regarded as taxable transfers and the tax treatment should be similar as trading on other movable objects. Basically, this means that unlike in previous guidelines published by Finnish authorities, potential losses should also be deductible in the taxation of the party investing into crypto assets. However, exchanging crypto assets for other crypto assets or cash are also treated as transfers and all the transactions give rise to tax liability in Finland. In practice, the declaration of crypto trades in Finnish tax returns may be time consuming and special attention should be paid to documenting all transactions properly.

Source: WTS Global

In May 2019, Finland’s Financial Supervisory Authority47 (FSA) began regulating virtual currency exchange providers, wallets, and issuers of virtual currencies. Registration is required to ensure compliance with statutory requirements surrounding the reliability of the provider, protection of client money, segregation of assets, marketing, and compliance with AML/CFT regulations.

Source: Thomson Reuters

Finland has a fairly advanced situation in the cryptocurrency realm. As we have some successful trading platforms, successful cryptocurrencies, and periodic ICOs. There is a consumer segment who have already invested in cryptos years ago.

Source: FA Solutions

The National Bureau of Investigation has carried out a large fraud investigation involving Finnish victims who were scammed into investing in cryptocurrency on online platforms and promised considerable interest on their investments. As a result, two Finnish victims have lost about 250 bitcoins in total, currently equalling 4.6 million euros.

Source: Poliisi

The owner of the Rolex watches, a luxury watch trader, said they had arranged to sell the luxury goods at a Helsinki restaurant last April. The transaction was to be completed with cryptocurrency, via a bitcoin transfer.

Source: YLE Fi

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Financial sector regulation has multiplied and become more complex in the wake of the financial crisis. This is the case especially when it comes to EU regulation, but national legislative work is by no means unaffected. The Constitution of Finland requires more specific regulation of the rights and obligations of various parties, and this can easily double or even triple the amount of regulation in many overall reforms.

Source: Finance Finland