The Spanish crypto market has seen significant regulatory developments, with a notable 56% increase in officially registered crypto companies in 2023. The Bank of Spain’s website released official records indicating that 30 companies were granted licenses to operate as crypto asset service providers this year.
As the year 2023 approaches its end, the developments within the span of a year continue to surface. Despite the fact that the number of companies registered in 2022 was 53, the 2023 figure has surpassed this, which could be attributed to the initiation of official records in 2022.
Several international crypto platforms, including Revolut, Bitpanda, Crypto.com, and Vivid, have successfully made it onto the official registry in 2023. Notable developments include Coinbase securing its Anti-Money Laundering compliance record and Kraken obtaining its crypto asset service provider registration, while some major crypto firms are still absent from the registry. Spanish companies dominate the market, holding 61 out of the 85 licenses issued by the official institution.
Spanish regulators have recently taken active steps towards the crypto market. In October, Spain’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation announced the early adoption of the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, six months ahead of the deadline.
In November, the National Securities Market Commission opened its first case against a technology provider for violating crypto promotion rules. The same month, the Spanish Tax Agency introduced Form 721, a tax declaration form for crypto assets held abroad.
Additionally, the agency sent out 328,000 warning notices to individuals who failed to pay taxes on crypto assets for the fiscal year 2022, marking a 40% increase in notifications compared to 2021.