Georgia Follows EU’s Crypto Regulation Lead, Hopes to Become a ‘Hub’ for the Sector

Georgia’s government is taking steps to update its crypto regulation in line with the European Union – and hopes that the move will help this country at the intersection of Europe and Asia become a “hub” for the global industry.

Per iXBT and News Georgia, the nation’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Levan Davitashvili, claimed that a “bundle” of draft bills had already been sent to parliament.

The minister was confident that these bills would be approved, and that legal “changes” would be OKed during the upcoming autumn parliamentary session.

Davitashvili stated that all of the bills are amendments to existing laws that will “provide for the convergence” of Georgian legislation with a number of EU directives that pertain to crypto.

Namely, these include:

• The Payment Service Directive (PSD2), which requires exchange customers to submit additional information before buying crypto
• The Capital Requirements Directive (CRD), which requires financial regulators to apply certain criteria when assessing crypto-related license requests
• Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) directives, which pertain to the way exchanges and other crypto service providers communicate with one another and monitor customer transactions for suspicious-looking transfers or trades

Davitashvili was quoted as explaining that this would mean that Georgia-based crypto traders would be able to enjoy new legal rights, and that the measures would help the government and law enforcers ensure that crypto is not used in money laundering or terrorist financing efforts.

Davitashvili also pointed out that the VASP-related legislation was “one of the most important steps” the country needed to take in its journey toward a “sustainable regulation of the crypto industry in Georgia.”

The Deputy Prime Minister claimed that streamlining Georgian crypto legislation with the EU directives was “only the first step” on the nation’s crypto journey.

The government has previously stated that it wants Georgia to become a “crypto hub” by 2025.