Georgia is following the lead of EU crypto regulations and hopes to become a ‘hub’ for the sector

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

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

The minister was confident that these bills would be approved and that the legal “changes” would be approved in the next fall parliamentary session.

Davitashvili said all the bills are amendments to existing laws that will “ensure convergence” of Georgian legislation with a number of EU directives relating to cryptography.

Namely, these include:

• The Payment Services Directive (PSD2), which requires exchange customers to submit additional information before purchasing crypto
• The Capital Requirements Directive (CRD), which requires financial regulators to apply certain criteria when evaluating crypto-related license applications
• Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) Guidelines, which relate to how exchanges and other crypto service providers communicate with each other and monitor customer transactions for suspicious transfers or transactions

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

Davitashvili also pointed out that the VASP legislation is “one of the most important steps” the country needs to take in its journey towards “sustainable regulation of the crypto industry in Georgia.”

The Deputy Prime Minister claimed that streamlining Georgia’s crypto legislation with EU directives was “just the first step” in the country’s crypto journey.

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